[Correspondent Diary] 'My Situation Is Urgent' Trump Ignores Close Friend Abe

Showed camaraderie throughout tenure but turned away at critical moments
Abe resignation news judged to have diluted Trump’s acceptance speech effect
No summit friendship before 'America First'
'Japanese scholarship student' Bolton "Abe resignation a huge loss for Japan and the US"

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Was it because he stole the spotlight from his own presidential candidate acceptance speech? Or was it because his approval ratings were lagging ahead of the presidential election?

On the 28th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump headed to the campaign venue without making any mention of the resignation news of Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who had visited him for the first time right after his election.

In November 2016, immediately after the U.S. presidential election, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Donald Trump's residence in New York and shook hands with the president-elect.

On that day, President Trump retweeted the video of his presidential candidate acceptance speech from the day before on Twitter and praised it as having received good reviews. He also emphasized that there had been no violent protests after the National Guard entered Kenosha, Wisconsin.

However, there was something awkward. He made no comment about Prime Minister Abe’s resignation announcement.

President Trump did not speak about Prime Minister Abe even during his official schedule at the White House that day and headed to New Hampshire, the campaign venue, by his private plane in the evening.

For Prime Minister Abe, who had given special treatment to President Trump, this must have felt unfair. President Trump’s behavior contrasts with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who immediately expressed regret over Abe’s resignation.

Abe, who ignored cold stares and devoted four years, leaves while Trump turns away

Prime Minister Abe had devoted himself to President Trump throughout his term, even visiting Trump’s residence in New York directly right after Trump’s election in 2016. When the leader of a major economic power headed to the U.S. to meet the president-elect who had not yet taken office, there was talk in Japan about a submissive diplomacy. Abe dismissed such views and consistently supported President Trump.

The two leaders played golf several times while traveling between the U.S. and Japan. Many incidents occurred during their meetings. In 2017, during talks at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, when North Korea launched a missile, they held an emergency press conference and took joint action against North Korea.

During President Trump’s first visit to Japan in 2017, a scene where Prime Minister Abe fell backward while playing golf and landed on his buttocks was widely publicized. It was a mishap that happened as Abe hurried to follow President Trump after hitting a ball that had fallen into a bunker.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is falling while playing golf with U.S. President Donald Trump. (YouTube capture)

Although President Trump jokingly said Abe was "better than any gymnast," Abe did not mind and kept smiling. During Trump’s visit to Japan, Abe treated him with great hospitality, sharing all three meals a day and watching sumo matches together.

If a friend had to quit work due to colitis, even an ordinary person would inquire about their health, but President Trump missed that timing.

Especially in critical situations, President Trump has previously ignored Prime Minister Abe. A representative example is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). President Trump shocked Abe by announcing withdrawal from the TPP negotiations that Abe had worked hard on.

President Trump also mentioned withdrawal from the TPP as an achievement in his presidential candidate acceptance speech the day before. In his speech, President Trump emphasized that he would tolerate nothing before America First and insisted on allies sharing defense costs. This could affect relations with South Korea but is essentially a declaration of war regarding the upcoming U.S.-Japan defense cost-sharing negotiations.

Trump’s nemesis Bolton says "a huge loss for the U.S. and Japan"

From President Trump’s perspective, it might have been upsetting that Prime Minister Abe announced his resignation at Trump’s presidential campaign kickoff. The news of Abe’s resignation spread worldwide immediately after Trump’s speech ended. The spotlight that should have been on Trump shifted to Abe.

President Trump does not tolerate others taking the attention that should be on him. When his event overlaps with another, causing public attention to be divided, he has always drawn attention to himself through surprise events. The collapse of the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi was such a case.

The ironic fact is that the person who played a decisive role in collapsing the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit felt regret over Abe’s resignation. That person is John Bolton, who recently served as a National Security Council (NSC) advisor at the White House.

Former advisor Bolton tweeted that day, "Prime Minister Abe’s resignation is a huge loss for Japan and the United States. He was a first-class leader among world leaders and America’s most steadfast ally." In diplomatic circles, Bolton is classified as a 'Japan scholar.'