Trump's Enthusiasm for Asian Red Carpets Overshadows Election Results
2025-06-16
Shortly before President Donald Trump arrived at a Vietnamese beach resort to address a group of CEOs, organizers received an urgent call from U.S. officials.
Officials demanded that the orange background used by all speakers at the economic summit be replaced with a Trump background because they feared the US president would disappear if he stood in front of an apricot-coloured electronic screen.
When Trump attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Friday, the orange was gone, replaced by a dark blue background with large white letters reading: “His Excellency Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.” “His Excellency” is the title given to Trump and his colleagues by summit organizers.
Trump's nearly two-week tour of Asia was as much about theatrics as it was about policy, whether touring the Forbidden City at dusk or delivering a speech in the majestic halls of the National Assembly in Seoul.
A year after joining an exclusive club of world leaders, Trump is reaping the benefits on the world stage, all in the name of maintaining his image as a tough negotiator.
“It’s been an incredible 12 days,” Trump said in Manila on Tuesday, canceling another leaders’ summit and leaving Asia early. “I’ve made a lot of friends at the highest levels.”
However, the fact that he was greeted with great pomp and ceremony in foreign capitals, and that flattery was a central element of the subsequent pomp and ceremony, does not answer the question of what his visit actually brought to the United States.
The president's "America First" agenda has excluded the United States from key agreements such as trade and climate change deals, most recently the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
His decision to pull the United States out of a landmark 12-nation trade pact has not stopped them from moving forward. As Trump Week approaches, 11 countries are moving forward with their respective agreements, raising the stakes for Trump’s all-or-nothing game as a Pacific power.
Trump has further muddled his Asia policy by loudly calling for unilateral trade protectionism while trying to rally Asian allies to confront North Korea.
If Trump showed himself to be a tough negotiator on this trip, beginning to make good on his promise to reduce trade imbalances, it was all done behind closed doors. In public, he seemed more interested in giving and receiving praise.
Trump, given his high spirits at the end of the visit, asked aides to consider giving him a prime-time speech from the White House upon his return to Washington, officials told CNN.
“This has been a very productive visit for us and, frankly, for many other countries,” Trump said on the final day of talks in Manila. “It was like a red carpet, I think, the likes of which no one has ever seen. It’s really a sign of respect, maybe a little bit for me, but really for our country. I’m very proud of it.”
Related Articles Trump to Become First Foreign Leader to Dine in Forbidden City Since China's Founding
Since taking office, Trump has been feted by sword dancers in Riyadh, wined and dined on the Eiffel Tower's second terrace, and this week spent hours in talks with Chinese leaders in the Forbidden City.
As Trump shuttles between Asian capitals, more important than any specific policy or doctrine is his insistence that Asian leaders like him and use their “chemistry” to resolve the continent’s long-running trade disputes with the United States.
But as the longest trip to Asia by a U.S. president in a quarter century comes to an end and Trump returns to Washington, how, when and under what conditions Trump's budding friendship will bear fruit for the United States remains largely unknown.
“I have very warm feelings for you,” Trump said last week during one of his many meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the majestic Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square. “As we have said, we have a very good understanding.”
Xi Jinping declined to respond to Trump's enthusiasm, instead reminding him through a stern female translator that the US and China will still have differences, but "the Pacific Ocean is big enough for both of us."
Russian President Vladimir Putin also refused to buy into the chemistry between himself and Trump, which the US president insisted this week would have flourished had the relationship not been clouded by election interference. He insisted he was uniquely positioned to advance that relationship.
“This is brilliant,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, which remained in the air for an hour to prevent Trump from arriving in Hanoi too early. “I think Putin and I — President Putin and I — are going to have a great relationship that will be great for both countries.”
After Trump left, Putin stayed in Da Nang to comment on the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. He held a televised press conference while Trump did not, but he did not address his personal relationship with Trump — or lack thereof.
Trump's national security aides believe the president uses flattery as a means to extract concessions from other colleagues, particularly on isolating North Korea.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking to reporters in Beijing, described Trump's message to Xi Jinping as follows: "You are a strong man, and I am confident that you can help me with this."
How effective this strategy will be remains to be seen. At the same time, Trump’s cooperative approach to North Korea and nativism on trade have presented a confused vision of U.S. leadership in the Asia-Pacific that stands in stark contrast to generations of history and policy.
Trump announced a series of smaller steps during his visit to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, including new Japanese sanctions on North Korea and business deals between American companies and China.
Although he made a “significant” announcement on trade upon returning to the White House on Wednesday, the president left Asia without any major new economic or security deals, let alone the climate change or human rights agreements negotiated by his predecessor.
I will make a major announcement at the White House upon my return to Washington, D.C.; time and date to be determined.
He focused more on the billions of dollars of U.S. investment in the region — some new, some already underway — as the main takeaway from his trip.
That’s not to say that the summit of Asian leaders this week wasn’t productive. It’s just that their discussions took place without Trump, and their statements without the United States.
In Vietnam, leaders of 11 countries announced they would move forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation pact negotiated under Trump's predecessor, without the United States.
It is similar to Trump's first major world summit in May, when he met with G7 leaders on a cliff in Sicily and refused to sign the G7 summit resolution on climate change - a "do it yourself" stance that persists in Asia to this day.
“I think when historians write about this visit, they won’t focus on what Putin said or the domestic turmoil in the United States. They will focus on the unilateral, significant abdication of the United States. We have largely written ourselves off from a future in Asia,” said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
“The alliance is a comprehensive, all-encompassing relationship,” Haas said. “So I think history will not just be about China moving forward. It will be about the United States moving backward again.”
Before Trump left, the trip to Asia was seen as a test of the stamina of the 71-year-old commander in chief, who prefers to sleep in his own bed rather than in foreign hotel rooms. His aides carefully planned the itinerary — including random, unscheduled schedules and at least 10 hours of late-night activities between the end of dinner and the start of meetings — to help stave off fatigue.
At times, his schedule seemed unusually loose: his flight from Da Nang to Hanoi took off an hour early and had to stop in mid-air to allow time for a greeter on the ground.
Before his departure, American officials advised Asian planners not to put too much exotic food on the menu. His first meal in Japan was a hamburger with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while his Chinese hosts served Western versions of traditional dishes at a state dinner.
However, he boldly adhered to the dress code for leaders attending the Asia Economic Summit, swapping his suit and tie for a blue Vietnamese shirt and an oatmeal-colored Filipino shirt known in Da Nang as a "barong."
On his last day in Manila, Trump showed no signs of fatigue: advisers insisted that he was not tired, although members of his entourage readily acknowledged this.
He enthusiastically took part in the annual ritual of criss-crossing handshakes at the ASEAN summit with a wry smile on his face and left Asia without vomiting in anyone's lap - the lowest standard of presidential endurance set by George HW Bush, who collapsed at the end of a marathon trip to Asia in 1992.
But while Trump has enjoyed spending a lot of time with officials leading key US allies (all of whom are men), he has spent little time with the citizens of those countries, contrary to precedent for US leaders abroad.
Then-Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama often interacted with permanent (though carefully selected) representatives of the people they visited, giving speeches or taking tours in addition to meeting with the leaders.
Trump’s weekend visit to Vietnam coincided with Veterans Day. He fought in the Vietnam War but did not serve, but he has deep ties to veterans. He briefly met with several veterans at his hotel in Da Nang but did not venture to any military installations.
President Trump is leaving Vietnam. He did not visit Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton) during this visit like Clinton, Bush, etc. If he had gone, he would have seen this photo @SenJohnMcCain pic.twitter.com/cK8M7q1rje
If he had, Trump might have seen photos of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the wall of Hoa Lo Prison, which became known as the "Hanoi Hilton" and where Senator John McCain and other Americans were held during the Vietnam War.
Instead, Trump found himself in another standoff with McCain. After Trump said he believed Putin’s denials about Russian interference in the 2016 election, McCain seized his opportunity. He said Putin had no interest in the United States at heart, adding, “Believing Putin’s lies is not only naive, it puts our national security at risk.”
Trump, in a rare move, refrained from making personal attacks on McCain when asked about the incident Sunday morning. He left town hours later as tourists lined up to tour the site of McCain's former prison, where black-and-white photos from his five-year sentence line the walls.
Trump’s measured response to McCain reflected the general calm across Asia, even with leaders he disagrees with. Although Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in disagreed about the wisdom of negotiating with Pyongyang, the talks did not generate much friction.
The only public indication of Trump's anger came after he canceled a visit to the heavily fortified border with the Korean Peninsula as thick fog blanketed the peninsula and thwarted his plans for a symbolic border standoff with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump was furious with his aides returning from the presidency because they failed to deliver to Pyongyang the symbolic warning he had hoped for.
Officials demanded that the orange background used by all speakers at the economic summit be replaced with a Trump background because they feared the US president would disappear if he stood in front of an apricot-coloured electronic screen.
When Trump attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Friday, the orange was gone, replaced by a dark blue background with large white letters reading: “His Excellency Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.” “His Excellency” is the title given to Trump and his colleagues by summit organizers.
Trump's nearly two-week tour of Asia was as much about theatrics as it was about policy, whether touring the Forbidden City at dusk or delivering a speech in the majestic halls of the National Assembly in Seoul.
A year after joining an exclusive club of world leaders, Trump is reaping the benefits on the world stage, all in the name of maintaining his image as a tough negotiator.
“It’s been an incredible 12 days,” Trump said in Manila on Tuesday, canceling another leaders’ summit and leaving Asia early. “I’ve made a lot of friends at the highest levels.”
However, the fact that he was greeted with great pomp and ceremony in foreign capitals, and that flattery was a central element of the subsequent pomp and ceremony, does not answer the question of what his visit actually brought to the United States.
The president's "America First" agenda has excluded the United States from key agreements such as trade and climate change deals, most recently the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
His decision to pull the United States out of a landmark 12-nation trade pact has not stopped them from moving forward. As Trump Week approaches, 11 countries are moving forward with their respective agreements, raising the stakes for Trump’s all-or-nothing game as a Pacific power.
Trump has further muddled his Asia policy by loudly calling for unilateral trade protectionism while trying to rally Asian allies to confront North Korea.
If Trump showed himself to be a tough negotiator on this trip, beginning to make good on his promise to reduce trade imbalances, it was all done behind closed doors. In public, he seemed more interested in giving and receiving praise.
Trump, given his high spirits at the end of the visit, asked aides to consider giving him a prime-time speech from the White House upon his return to Washington, officials told CNN.
“This has been a very productive visit for us and, frankly, for many other countries,” Trump said on the final day of talks in Manila. “It was like a red carpet, I think, the likes of which no one has ever seen. It’s really a sign of respect, maybe a little bit for me, but really for our country. I’m very proud of it.”
Related Articles Trump to Become First Foreign Leader to Dine in Forbidden City Since China's Founding
Since taking office, Trump has been feted by sword dancers in Riyadh, wined and dined on the Eiffel Tower's second terrace, and this week spent hours in talks with Chinese leaders in the Forbidden City.
As Trump shuttles between Asian capitals, more important than any specific policy or doctrine is his insistence that Asian leaders like him and use their “chemistry” to resolve the continent’s long-running trade disputes with the United States.
But as the longest trip to Asia by a U.S. president in a quarter century comes to an end and Trump returns to Washington, how, when and under what conditions Trump's budding friendship will bear fruit for the United States remains largely unknown.
“I have very warm feelings for you,” Trump said last week during one of his many meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the majestic Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square. “As we have said, we have a very good understanding.”
Xi Jinping declined to respond to Trump's enthusiasm, instead reminding him through a stern female translator that the US and China will still have differences, but "the Pacific Ocean is big enough for both of us."
Russian President Vladimir Putin also refused to buy into the chemistry between himself and Trump, which the US president insisted this week would have flourished had the relationship not been clouded by election interference. He insisted he was uniquely positioned to advance that relationship.
“This is brilliant,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, which remained in the air for an hour to prevent Trump from arriving in Hanoi too early. “I think Putin and I — President Putin and I — are going to have a great relationship that will be great for both countries.”
After Trump left, Putin stayed in Da Nang to comment on the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. He held a televised press conference while Trump did not, but he did not address his personal relationship with Trump — or lack thereof.
Trump's national security aides believe the president uses flattery as a means to extract concessions from other colleagues, particularly on isolating North Korea.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking to reporters in Beijing, described Trump's message to Xi Jinping as follows: "You are a strong man, and I am confident that you can help me with this."
How effective this strategy will be remains to be seen. At the same time, Trump’s cooperative approach to North Korea and nativism on trade have presented a confused vision of U.S. leadership in the Asia-Pacific that stands in stark contrast to generations of history and policy.
Trump announced a series of smaller steps during his visit to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, including new Japanese sanctions on North Korea and business deals between American companies and China.
Although he made a “significant” announcement on trade upon returning to the White House on Wednesday, the president left Asia without any major new economic or security deals, let alone the climate change or human rights agreements negotiated by his predecessor.
I will make a major announcement at the White House upon my return to Washington, D.C.; time and date to be determined.
He focused more on the billions of dollars of U.S. investment in the region — some new, some already underway — as the main takeaway from his trip.
That’s not to say that the summit of Asian leaders this week wasn’t productive. It’s just that their discussions took place without Trump, and their statements without the United States.
In Vietnam, leaders of 11 countries announced they would move forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation pact negotiated under Trump's predecessor, without the United States.
It is similar to Trump's first major world summit in May, when he met with G7 leaders on a cliff in Sicily and refused to sign the G7 summit resolution on climate change - a "do it yourself" stance that persists in Asia to this day.
“I think when historians write about this visit, they won’t focus on what Putin said or the domestic turmoil in the United States. They will focus on the unilateral, significant abdication of the United States. We have largely written ourselves off from a future in Asia,” said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
“The alliance is a comprehensive, all-encompassing relationship,” Haas said. “So I think history will not just be about China moving forward. It will be about the United States moving backward again.”
Before Trump left, the trip to Asia was seen as a test of the stamina of the 71-year-old commander in chief, who prefers to sleep in his own bed rather than in foreign hotel rooms. His aides carefully planned the itinerary — including random, unscheduled schedules and at least 10 hours of late-night activities between the end of dinner and the start of meetings — to help stave off fatigue.
At times, his schedule seemed unusually loose: his flight from Da Nang to Hanoi took off an hour early and had to stop in mid-air to allow time for a greeter on the ground.
Before his departure, American officials advised Asian planners not to put too much exotic food on the menu. His first meal in Japan was a hamburger with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while his Chinese hosts served Western versions of traditional dishes at a state dinner.
However, he boldly adhered to the dress code for leaders attending the Asia Economic Summit, swapping his suit and tie for a blue Vietnamese shirt and an oatmeal-colored Filipino shirt known in Da Nang as a "barong."
On his last day in Manila, Trump showed no signs of fatigue: advisers insisted that he was not tired, although members of his entourage readily acknowledged this.
He enthusiastically took part in the annual ritual of criss-crossing handshakes at the ASEAN summit with a wry smile on his face and left Asia without vomiting in anyone's lap - the lowest standard of presidential endurance set by George HW Bush, who collapsed at the end of a marathon trip to Asia in 1992.
But while Trump has enjoyed spending a lot of time with officials leading key US allies (all of whom are men), he has spent little time with the citizens of those countries, contrary to precedent for US leaders abroad.
Then-Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama often interacted with permanent (though carefully selected) representatives of the people they visited, giving speeches or taking tours in addition to meeting with the leaders.
Trump’s weekend visit to Vietnam coincided with Veterans Day. He fought in the Vietnam War but did not serve, but he has deep ties to veterans. He briefly met with several veterans at his hotel in Da Nang but did not venture to any military installations.
President Trump is leaving Vietnam. He did not visit Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton) during this visit like Clinton, Bush, etc. If he had gone, he would have seen this photo @SenJohnMcCain pic.twitter.com/cK8M7q1rje
If he had, Trump might have seen photos of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the wall of Hoa Lo Prison, which became known as the "Hanoi Hilton" and where Senator John McCain and other Americans were held during the Vietnam War.
Instead, Trump found himself in another standoff with McCain. After Trump said he believed Putin’s denials about Russian interference in the 2016 election, McCain seized his opportunity. He said Putin had no interest in the United States at heart, adding, “Believing Putin’s lies is not only naive, it puts our national security at risk.”
Trump, in a rare move, refrained from making personal attacks on McCain when asked about the incident Sunday morning. He left town hours later as tourists lined up to tour the site of McCain's former prison, where black-and-white photos from his five-year sentence line the walls.
Trump’s measured response to McCain reflected the general calm across Asia, even with leaders he disagrees with. Although Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in disagreed about the wisdom of negotiating with Pyongyang, the talks did not generate much friction.
The only public indication of Trump's anger came after he canceled a visit to the heavily fortified border with the Korean Peninsula as thick fog blanketed the peninsula and thwarted his plans for a symbolic border standoff with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump was furious with his aides returning from the presidency because they failed to deliver to Pyongyang the symbolic warning he had hoped for.