‘America First’ Trump loved hanging out with the global elite during his Asia trip

TOKYO (AP) — For an “America First” president, Donald Trump seemed to love his whirlwind five days skipping across Asia — a reflection of a White House that is increasingly focused on the rest of the world.

When Trump stepped off Air Force One on Sunday for his first stop in Malaysia, he danced with local performers who had greeted him on the red carpet. In Japan, he helicoptered to a mammoth aircraft carrier for a speech with the country’s prime minister. And South Korea gave him a gold medal and crown as gifts.

Back home in Washington, the federal government was shut down as Trump’s poll numbers remain low, and it’s unclear how much Trump’s trip will resonate with voters consumed by other concerns at home.

Yet on the last night of his trip, Trump was overheard at a state dinner talking about how much he enjoyed meetings with his foreign counterparts.

“That was a great meeting,” Trump said. “They’re all great meetings. This was a great meeting. We had a fantastic meeting.”

Had a president who once used the term “globalist” as a slur suddenly found the fun in being a little bit globalist? He definitely likes the international dealmaking, the parties in his honor, the praise from other leaders and the possibility of leaving his mark on the wider world.

But that ebullience abroad also reflects the mood of a president who has struck economic deals and helped smooth relations between warring nations.

He helped to affirm a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand. There’s a detailed list of nearly $500 billion in investment commitments from Japan. And South Korea pledged $150 billion to help revive American shipbuilding, including a project to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine — on top of $200 billion in investments over a decade to the U.S.

“It’s not globalism to go to other countries and stand up for America,” said Hogan Gidley, a former White House aide who traveled to Asia and other foreign destinations with Trump in his first term. When Trump travels, he makes sure “the globe is fully aware that this president is going to stand up for the American people first,” Gidley said, making it “the exact opposite of globalism.”

As for the dancing?

“Look, when you’re scoring touchdowns, it’s OK to dance in the end zone,” Gidley said. “And this president is scoring touchdowns and running up the score.”

Foreign leaders are learning what makes Trump happy

Many Trump voters believed they were electing a president who would focus on them instead of distant countries. But Trump in his second term is increasingly finding it easier to sell the idea of America with jaunts to Asia and the Middle East.

The shift in tone reflects foreign governments’ strenuous efforts to keep Trump happy, like stationing American-made vehicles near him in Tokyo and featuring U.S.-raised beef on the menu.

Trump is increasingly showing confidence that he can play on the global stage, instead of grinding metaphorical axes as he did during his first term by attacking NATO and finding ways to intimidate and frustrate allies such as Angela Merkel, then the chancellor of Germany.

“He appears to believe in his skills as a one-on-one negotiator with world leaders,” said Jasen Castillo, a professor with a focus on national security at Texas A&M University. “All of this suggests that his foreign policy ventures are genuine.”

Still, it’s not always clear what Trump is trying to achieve, other than a chance to declare victory. Some of his trade talks have led to foreign countries promising investments, but not necessarily the careful negotiations on which durable coalitions are built.

“What can confuse observers is that he lacks a consistent, coherent world view,” Castillo added.

‘The best deals are deals that work for everybody’

The U.S. president in Asia was hardly the grimacing presence he’s been at times in the Oval Office, where he’s objected to the support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought in the war against Russia and chastised post-apartheid South Africans on their treatment of white Afrikaners.

In Asia, it was a lovefest. Trump said Southeast Asian nations had “spectacular leaders,” the new Japanese prime minister was “a winner” and the South Korean president could “go down as the greatest of them all.”

Rather than complaining about foreign countries ripping off America, he told business leaders that “the best deals are deals that work for everybody.”

Trump was similarly effusive after sitting down on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping shortly before returning to Washington.

“I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Diplomacy on his own terms

Trump seems to enjoy doing foreign policy on his own terms. He prizes bold shows of force, like attacking nuclear sites in Iran and boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean. He minimizes participation in lengthy multilateral meetings that can require more listening than talking.

Arriving at the summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Trump offered a spot in the armored presidential limousine to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was thrilled to join him in the vehicle nicknamed “The Beast.”

“When the president arrives, he asked me to join him in the car,” Anwar later recalled in a speech. “I said, ‘That’s against the security and protocol rules,’ and he was delighted to break the rules.”

The White House said that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi planned to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, with Takaichi telling him she was “so impressed and inspired” by Trump’s commitment to world peace and stability.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Trump “will be recognized forever in the history of humanity” if he could bring his peacemaker skills to ending the military standoff with North Korea, before complimenting him for U.S. stock indices hitting a record high.

Even the far more reserved Xi seemed to suggest that Trump’s policies behind elevating America were also good for China.

“I always believe that China’s development goes hand in hand with your vision to ‘Make America Great Again,’” Xi said through a translator.

While the White House is trumpeting the results of Trump’s trip back home, it’s unclear how much his foreign policy actions mattered to a country worried about inflation staying high.

Going into the 2025 elections Tuesday with a mayoral race in New York City and governors’ elections in Virginia and New Jersey, many Americans are harboring deep anxieties about Trump’s leadership. The month-long government shutdown is starting to cause pain with missed paychecks and government food aid no longer being available to millions of families.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, according to an October poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Trump told his audiences in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and South Korea that America has never been better.

“We’re literally sort of an inspiration to a lot of other countries,” Trump said.

Megerian reported from Busan, South Korea, and Kim reported from Washington.