Trump lauds Asia trade wins and red carpets
AFP
AFP, MANILA: Donald Trump yesterday lauded his trade achievements during a five-nation tour of Asia, promising he would reveal far bigger steps when he returned to Washington.
The US president has frequently bemoaned what he calls unfair international trade deals and a perceived lack of respect for America and its leaders.
But standing alongside the prime ministers of Japan and Australia in Manila yesterday, he said that was all changing.
The way theyve treated us, the respect that Japan and China and South Korea, in particularbecause we went therehave treated us has been really a great respect for the people of our country, the people of the United States, he said.
And we very much appreciate it, I will say that. It was red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably ever received.
And that really is a sign of respect, perhaps, for me a little bit, but really for our country.
Trump was lavished with praise during his time in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, in what analysts said was a deliberate strategy of flattery. In Japan he golfed with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and world number four Hideki Matsuyama, and met the revered Emperor Akihito.
In South Korea he was treated to clamorous applause during a parliamentary address, on the first state visit by a US leader in a quarter of a century.
