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The TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump’s week-long three-nation trip to Asia is generating comedic gold dust for late-night commentators and social media trolls in America even as his MAGA minions maintain that he is crushing it with his diplomatic masterstrokes.US trade agreements with Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea took a backseat to visuals of Trump bumbling around “like a grandpa lost in a mall” during a reception in Japan, an event that critics and comedians feasted on. The US President’s habitual word salads, including rambling digressions on his beef against magnets, his preference for steam engines over electric, and his incessant boasts on “solving” numerous wars, was cannon-fodder for comics while the White House put its best spin on the visit considered crucial to maintain US primacy.Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea reiterated commitments of more than $ 1 trillion in investments in the US, but what caught the eye of the American commentariat for the most part was the abject flattery from leaders of the three East Asian countries as they bowed and scraped before Trump to obtain low tariffs and maintain access to the US market that he has threatened to shut off unless they pony up tributes to the US by way of investments and buying American goods. Also read: Fabulist Donald Trump indicates trade deal with India imminentSouth Korea presented Trump with a gold medal representing the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the country’s highest honor, and an exhibition of six ancient Silla Dynasty gold crowns—artifacts signifying the “king’s heavenly mandate”—specially assembled for the event, a gesture critics noted could be seen as overly deferential amid US domestic “No Kings” protests. A band played Trump’s campaign anthem, “YMCA,” upon his arrival and a special lunch menu featured US-raised beef and a gold-adorned brownie, in deference to the US President’s obsession with the gold motifs and gilded accents.Earlier, Japan’s new prime minister also had a thick overlay of gold on the visit, presenting Trump with a gold-leaf golf ball, part of a golf-themed gift package that included a putter once owned by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Trump’s former golfing buddy) and a golf bag signed by Japanese Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. Reporters were directed past a gold-hued Ford F-150 pickup truck outside their meeting venue, a visible acknowledgment of Trump’s desire for Japan to buy more US vehicles.In the case of South Korea, home to corporate business giants like Samsung, Hyundai and LG, Trump is said to have demanded an upfront payment of $ 350 million in cash for US in lieu of the investments it had pledged over a longer time period, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Seoul fended off the demand, agreeing to $200 billion in cash installments and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation, it said, citing Kim Yong-beom, South Korea’s presidential chief of staff for policy. In the case of Japan, the country’s new prime minister reaffirmed and advanced a prior $550 billion investment commitment made by her predecessor, signing a Framework Agreement that will direct $ 400 billion into promoting US leadership in advanced technology such as AI and quantum computing, besides $ 100 billion for nuclear power projects, increased US LNG purchases, and pipeline infrastructure.Comedians took a dim view of the booty as they mocked visuals of Trump dancing at a welcome ceremony in Malaysia and before US troops in Japan. “Japan’s throwing $550 billion at US factories, Malaysia’s dropping $70 billion—Trump’s turning Asia into his personal GoFundMe for ‘Make America Build Again.’ Who needs taxes when you’ve got tariffs and tango?” sneered Jimmy Kimmel.The US President talked up his triumph though, leaving little doubt that he was setting the stage for a larger agenda on Thursday. “Bringing back Trillions of Dollars to USA! A great trip. Dealing with very smart, talented, and wonderful Leaders. Tomorrow, President Xi of China. It will be a great meeting for both!!!” he posted on X.
