‘Could Not Have Gone Better’: MSNBC Guest Praises Trump’s Trip To Japan

Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s trip to Japan was “a perfect lead-up” to Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump and newly-elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed agreements on rare-earth minerals and natural gas purchases on Tuesday, as Trump continued a week-long trip to Asia. Haass said that Trump had solidified America’s relationship with a crucial ally. (RELATED: Brit Hume Says Trump ‘Should Be Shoo-In’ For Nobel Prize)

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“This could not have gone better. Let’s just take a step back. Japan is arguably the single most important ally of the United States — the world’s third largest economy, one of the most powerful militaries,” Haass, a former Bush administration official, told MSNBC anchor Chris Jansing. “If you want to deal successfully with China, you need Japan on your side. This, again, could not have gone better. The trade relationship is going OK. There’s some questions about the details of Japanese investment in the United States.”

“This was actually old-fashioned foreign policy and diplomacy,” Haass added. “Because a hallmark of Mr. Trump’s — President Trump’s foreign policy has often been to give a stiff arm to allies. This was just the opposite. This was an embrace. So I actually … since he’s going to be meeting Xi Jinping in a day or two days, what a perfect lead-up to that, to basically say the U.S.-Japanese alliance is still strong. This was very good.”

Trump signed trade deals with Malaysia and Cambodia Sunday, while also securing a further de-escalation of the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. Frameworks of trade deals with Vietnam and Thailand were also announced during Trump’s time in Malaysia.

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