To read the full text of the podcast and the links to the quoted materials, please see: https://erm76.substack.com/p/podcast-and-full-text-some-people
During a press conference with reporters in the White House, Trump was asked
why the US didn't inform its allies about the upcoming attack against Iran. Trump answered,
“We wanted surprise,” he said, with Ms. Takaichi seated next to him. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan, OK? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK? Right?”
Pearl Harbor was a horrible situation. And yet, Trump made an off the cuff remark to Japan's Prime Minister about the Pearl Harbor attack. I guess he forgot that over two-thousand Americans died, including crew members of the USS Arizona, now a war grave and memorial. The attack also launched the US into World War II.
The incident also reveals and reminded me about one of the unpleasant sides of the Trump Administration. On occasion, the President has denigrated and/or failed to honor those who fell in battle.
For example, during a 2018 service in France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Trump didn't visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial. It was raining. And even though the White House later commented that safety concerns forced Trump to cancel the visit, other world leaders were not so hindered
I know there will be a number of apologists, including Republican politicians, who will say Trump didn't mean anything by the Pearl Harbor remark. It was just a joke, and Trump was just being Trump.
But I think one of Trump's more questionable remarks came when he was asked when the war would end. Trump's reply was, “When I feel it in my bones.” Unbelievable.
And finally, in the same general time-frame, Trump talked about the attack on Kharg Island, Iran's oil export center. During his presentation, he remarked, “We may hit it a few more times just for fun.” Fun?
This statement follows Trump's line of thinking that we just covered in this post. At a time when you're sending the US military into harm's way, you call this fun? It's a disregard for the value of life and a lack of empathy for a situation that demands, at the very least, a sense of gravitas.
Going down the same path, the Administration has developed a video game construct, including internet memes, to portray the war.
But what's the reality of this situation? Someone's kid who's serving in the military may be injured or possibly die. Civilians have been and are still being killed throughout the Middle East. This is the reality of war. Something Trump doesn't seem to grasp.
Notes:
**** The Magic 8 ball is a toy that has been around for years. You ask it a question, and your answer appears on the bottom of the ball through a small window. You can actually still buy one from ebay, and I assume from other vendors as well.
1. “In Japan, Trump's Pearl Harbor Joke Elicits Scorn and Dismay,” by Javier C. Hernández and Hisako Ueno, The New York Times. March 20, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/world/asia/japan-trump-pearl-harbor.html
2. Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942). Milestone Documents. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066
3. “Trump's rain check on honoring Americans killed in WWI prompts backlash,” by Bill Hutchinson, ABC News. November 11, 2018. https://abcnews.com/US/trumps-rain-check-honoring-americans-killed-wwi-prompts/story?id=59119504#:~:text=But%20even%20as%20he%20spoke,(@realDonaldTrump)%20November%2011%2C%202018
(4) “Assessing Trump's Denial That He's Called Veterans ‘Losers' and ‘Suckers',” by Linda Qiu, The New Yok Times. June 10, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/06/10/us/biden-trump-election#assessing-trumps-denial-that-hes-called-veterans-losers-and-suckers
(5) “Trump says war with Iran will end when ‘I feel it in my bones,' by Ryan Mancini, The Hill. – March 12, 2026. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5783165-trump-says-war-with-iran-will-end-when-i-feel-it-in-my-bones/#:~:text=by%20Ryan%20Mancini%20%2D%2003/13,to%20five%20weeks%E2%80%9D%20or%20longer.
(6) “Trump says the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island again ‘just for fun',” by Al Jazeera Staff, AP and Reuters, Al Jazeera. March 15, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/15/trump-says-us-may-hit-irans-kharg-island-again-just-for-fun#:~:text=list%201%20of%204Trump,attack%20any%20populated%20area%E2%80%9D%20there
7. Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/gravitas
8. “‘Just shocking': White House enlists SpongeBob to sell war at home,” by Guy Chazan, Financial Review. March 20, 2026. https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east/just-shocking-white-house-enlists-spongebob-to-sell-war-at-home-20260319-p5qqsy
9. “The Trump Administration Goes to War, by Any Memes Necessary,” by James Poniewozik, The New York Times. March 11,2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/arts/television/iran-war-trump-memes-social-media-videos.html