At Japanese state banquet, Trump recalls being surprised by the number of countries in the world


On Monday, President Trump told a gathering of Japanese officials at a state banquet that after he won last year's election, he was amazed to find out how many countries existed in the world.
Trump began his speech by extolling the virtues of golf diplomacy and talking at length about a U.S. Open tournament in 1980 in which Japanese golfer Isao Aoki and American Jack Nicklaus put on "one of the greatest putting displays anyone has ever seen." Trump then recounted the beginnings of his relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which he said "got off to quite a rocky start."
"I never ran, so I wasn't very experienced," Trump told the guests, explaining how he was unfamiliar with the conventions of public office. "And after I had won, everybody was calling me from all over the world. I never knew we had so many countries."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president paused so an interpreter could relay his remarks, then continued to say that despite the fact that "you can only take so many calls from world leaders," he accepted Abe's call. Watch the full speech below, courtesy of the White House's official YouTube channel. Kelly O'Meara Morales
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot