{"id":169732,"date":"2025-10-28T11:35:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-addresses-u-s-troops-on-aircraft-carrier-in-japan-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:35:54","slug":"live-updates-trump-addresses-u-s-troops-on-aircraft-carrier-in-japan-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-addresses-u-s-troops-on-aircraft-carrier-in-japan-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump addresses U.S. troops on aircraft carrier in Japan – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morning Rundown: Hurricane Melissa nears landfall, ICE leadership shakeup, and Messi ponders another World Cup<\/a><\/span><\/use><\/svg><\/a>
Earlier, President Donald Trump met with newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
China\u2019s foreign minister said he hoped that China and the U.S. could \u201cmeet each other halfway\u201d in a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of a highly anticipated meeting this week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The world\u2019s two biggest economies have been at odds over trade, technology and other issues, but after talks in Malaysia over the weekend they are expected to avoid a new 100% tariff<\/a> on Chinese goods that Trump threatened to impose in response to Chinese curbs on rare earth exports.
\u201cIt\u2019s hoped that both sides will meet each other halfway, prepare for high-level interactions between China and the U.S., and create conditions for the development of bilateral relations,\u201d Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Rubio, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout of yesterday\u2019s call.
The State Department also confirmed the call, saying Rubio \u201cemphasized the importance of open and constructive communication on a range of bilateral issues.\u201d
The meeting with Xi in South Korea on Thursday would be the first such face-to-face since Trump\u2019s return to office.
Taiwan\u2019s foreign minister said the island\u2019s U.S. ties are \u201cvery stable\u201d amid reports that Trump could make concessions on its sovereignty during a meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Asked if he is worried that Trump will \u201cabandon\u201d Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said: \u201cNo, because Taiwan and the U.S. have very stable relations.\u201d
\u201cWe are closely collaborating with each other on security and trade,\u201d Lin told reporters in Taipei.
Under its longstanding \u201cone China\u201d policy, the U.S. \u2014<\/strong> which has no official relations with Taiwan but supplies it with defensive weapons \u2014<\/strong> says it \u201cdoes not support\u201d Taiwan independence. There has been speculation in media in recent days that Trump could amend that to say the U.S. \u201copposes\u201d Taiwan independence, which would be a major victory for Beijing.
Beijing slammed Lin\u2019s remarks as \u201cdespicable and shameful.\u201d
\u201cChina consistently opposes any form of official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan,\u201d Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing in Beijing today, urging Washington to handle the issue of Taiwan with \u201ccaution and prudence.\u201d
Trump met with the widow of Shinzo Abe<\/a>, a long-serving Japanese prime minister and close ally of Trump who was assassinated in 2022<\/a>.
Trump and Japan\u2019s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, an Abe protege, have bonded over their shared connection with Abe, whose shooting death while campaigning in the Japanese city of Nara stunned a nation where gun crime and political violence are rare<\/a>.
\u201cHe spoke so well of you long before we met,\u201d Trump told Takaichi before their bilateral meeting this morning. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not surprised to see that you are now the prime minister, and he would be very happy to know that.\u201d
Earlier, Takaichi thanked Trump for the \u201cgreat kindness\u201d he had shown Abe\u2019s widow, Akie Abe, who at their meeting today gave Trump a piece of art bearing the word \u201cpeace.\u201d
Their meeting came on the same day that Abe\u2019s alleged killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, had his first court hearing<\/a>, where he pleaded guilty to the crime. \u201cIt is true that I did it,\u201d he said according to Reuters, which cited Japanese broadcaster NHK.
Trump\u2019s Asia tour has resulted in several agreements on trade and rare earths, which analysts say is part of a broader strategy to gain leverage against China as Trump prepares for a highly anticipated meeting this week with its leader, Xi Jinping.
The president has signed agreements on trade, rare earths or both with Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and, as of this morning, Japan. It has become an especially urgent issue for the U.S. amid concerns that China, which has a near-monopoly on their mining and processing, could disrupt the global supply through export controls.
\u201cThese quick deals are about trying to gain leverage before sitting down with Xi,\u201d said Jayant Menon, a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS\u2013Yusof Ishak Institute, a Singapore-based think tank.
But Menon said the deals, despite Trump\u2019s claims, \u201care not a great deal for anyone,\u201d and have been \u201cscribbled over just a few days.\u201d Countries are agreeing to the deals even though they\u2019re unfavorable because \u201cthey know they still need the U.S. for non-economic needs,\u201d he said.
Part of Trump\u2019s plan is to reduce U.S. reliance on China for rare earth materials, which are key components for producing electronic devices and other advanced technologies. But that could take years, as China has perfected both the sourcing and the processing over decades<\/a>.
\u201cThe question is whether China will buy the bluff,\u201d Menon said.\u00a0
Trump\u2019s visit has put a spotlight on the U.S. military relationship with Japan, which rests on a 1960 treaty that authorized U.S. military presence in the country.
<\/span>President Donald Trump addresses troops aboard USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Tomohiro Ohsumi \/ Getty Images<\/span>
Nearly 60,000 military personnel across the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force form the USFJ \u2014 the United States Forces, Japan \u2014 which is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, about 28 miles northwest of Tokyo. Japan hosts more U.S. troops than any other country in the world.
USFJ forces operate out of a total of 14 bases, the highest number of which are in Okinawa, according to the Japanese foreign ministry. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces regularly conduct joint exercises with the U.S.
The USS George Washington based in Yokusuka, aboard which Trump spoke today, is the U.S. Navy\u2019s only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, replacing the USS Ronald Reagan last year.
Speaking to U.S. troops earlier, Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> celebrated the U.S.-Japan alliance, which Trump called \u201cone of the most remarkable relationships in the entire world.\u201d
After their bilateral meeting this morning, the two leaders signed two agreements, one on trade and one on critical minerals.
The first agreement, which was very brief, called for a \u201cnew golden age\u201d in the U.S.-Japan alliance and referred to the\u00a0\u201cGREAT DEAL\u201d on trade that Trump announced in July<\/a>, which imposes a 15% tariff on Japanese goods in exchange for $550 billion in Japanese investment in the United States.
Experts say the document only confirmed earlier agreements in July and September. \u201cThere is no new development,\u201d said Tsuyoshi Kawase, a professor in the Sophia University Faculty of Law in Tokyo. \u201cIt\u2019s just a symbolic political gesture to demonstrate the alliance between the two countries.\u201d
The second document Trump and Takaichi signed was a framework agreement for securing the supply of\u00a0critical\u00a0minerals\u00a0and rare-earth minerals, which are essential for producing advanced technologies. Trump has signed similar agreements on this trip with Thailand and Malaysia amid concerns that Chinese export controls could disrupt the global supply.
In his remarks to U.S. troops, Trump said that the first batch of missiles for Japan\u2019s U.S.-made F-35 jets was being delivered this week, and that Toyota, one of Japan\u2019s biggest automakers, would invest $10 billion in U.S. auto plants.
\u201cYou saw a couple of them coming down with me,\u201d Trump said of the missiles. \u201cI hugged them.\u00a0We need them.\u00a0\u2026\u00a0They all want our missiles \u2014 that\u2019s\u00a0the problem.\u201d
After speaking for about 53 minutes, Trump wrapped up his remarks to U.S. troops, exiting the stage to the song \u201cYMCA.\u201d According to a White House official, there were about 6,000 troops in the crowd.
Trump is now heading back to Tokyo, where he will have dinner with business leaders.
Trump turned to one of his favorite subjects, shipbuilding.
Though the U.S. builds its own military ships, its commercial shipbuilding industry peaked around World War II. Since then the industry has come to be dominated by China, Japan and South Korea, while the U.S. accounts for less than 1% of global commercial shipbuilding.
\u201cWe used to be No. 1 at making ships, and then we lost our way,\u201d Trump said. \u201cBut now we\u2019re starting to make ships again, and we\u2019ll do it very soon.\u201d
He cited last year\u2019s $100 million purchase of the Philly Shipyard<\/a> by South Korea\u2019s Hanwha Group, which says it will help modernize the Philadelphia shipyard.
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be working also with Japan on making a lot of ships,\u201d Trump said.
Trump said he wanted to thank Japan, which \u201cis making big investments into the United States.\u201d
Japan has pledged to invest $550 billion in the U.S. as part of a trade deal Trump announced in July, though the two sides are still working out the details.
\u201cThey\u2019re a big investor in our country, and we like that,\u201d Trump said.
<\/span>Trump and Takaichi in Yokosuka, Japan, today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Harnik \/ Getty Images<\/span>
He said he had just been told by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> that Toyota, one of Japan\u2019s biggest automakers, would be \u201cputting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of over 10 billion.\u201d
\u201cSo go out and buy a Toyota,\u201d Trump said.
Trump said he would \u201csend more than the National Guard\u201d into troubled U.S. cities, as legal battles mount<\/a> over his plans to deploy guard members across the country.
Troops have been deployed in Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, Portland and Washington, with some federal deployments drawing pushback.
\u201cWe can\u2019t have cities that are trouble,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd if we need more than the National Guard, we\u2019ll send more than the National Guard.\u201d
Trump said his administration would continue to target drug traffickers, justifying his military strikes on fishing vessels, including a submersible recently hit by the U.S.<\/a>
\u201cHow about the submarine?\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey said, \u2018No, that was just fishing.\u2019 Submarines don\u2019t go fishing. Do they know more about submarines than I do?\u201d
Trump, during a riff on military aviation, took a jab at former President Joe Biden, erasing any pretense of avoiding politicizing the military.
Biden used to claim that \u201che was a pilot, a truck driver, or whatever, whoever walked in,\u201d Trump said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t a pilot. He wasn\u2019t much of a president either,\u201d he added.
There is no record of Biden claiming to be a pilot or truck driver.
Trump opened his remarks by thanking the Navy amid chants of \u201cTrump! Trump!\u201d and \u201cUSA,\u201d before recognizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him \u201ca tough cookie,\u201d and praising the strikes the U.S. military has conducted in recent weeks on boats in Caribbean and Pacific waters that the U.S. says are carrying drugs.
\u201cYou gave up a lot and we appreciate it,\u201d Trump told Hegseth, noting that \u201cthose drug ships aren\u2019t coming in anymore.\u201d
Speaking after Trump, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> thanked U.S. troops in Japan for their dedication to peace in the region. She recalled how six years ago in Yokosuka, Trump and the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe<\/a> stood next to one another and \u201cdemonstrated resolve that Japan and the United States will join hands to ensure peace and security.\u201d Takaichi said she was determined \u201cto carry forth that resolve.\u201d
Trump last visited Yokosuka\u2019s naval port in 2019, when he hosted a Memorial Day rally for service members abroad the USS Wasp following a four-day state visit. He is speaking today in front of a banner that reads \u201cPeace Through Strength.\u201d
The crowd erupted as Trump repeated his support for a pay raise, before he took a swipe at Democrats over the government shutdown, which is now in its 28th day.
\u201cAll we really have to do is get the Democrats to approve,\u201d Trump said.
Trump was joined on stage by Japan\u2019s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, who met with Trump earlier today.
\u201cThis woman is a winner,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI have a really great respect for the new and incredible prime minister,\u201d he said, noting that Takaichi is Japan\u2019s first female prime minister.
<\/span>Trump and Takaichi on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Japan.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Philip Fong \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/span>
Takaichi, who said the two allies were\u00a0\u201cfacing an unprecedented severe security environment,\u201d said last week that Japan would increase defense spending to 2% of GDP by March, two years ahead of schedule. The move is sure to please Trump, who has also pressured Japan to bear a greater share of the cost of hosting U.S. troops.
\u201cJapan is committed to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities, and Japan is ready to contribute even more proactively to peace and stability of the region,\u201d Takaichi said.
Service members and press are awaiting Trump aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan. The president will deliver remarks from the aircraft carrier during a visit to the Yokosuka Naval Base today.
Earlier, the crowd heard remarks from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who arrived in Tokyo today as part of a larger Asia trip.
<\/span>Service members and press aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan, today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Katherine Doyle \/ NBC News<\/span>
Later today, Trump and Hegseth will attend a dinner with business leaders in Tokyo.
Trump praised Takaichi<\/a>, Japan\u2019s first female prime minister, saying the United States and Japan are allies \u201cat the strongest level\u201d as the two leaders signed agreements on trade and critical minerals.
\u201cWe\u2019re going to do tremendous trade together, I think, more than ever before,\u201d he said before their bilateral meeting.
Trump also said he appreciated Japan\u2019s efforts to increase its military capacity and buy more U.S. defense equipment. \u201cAny favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,\u201d he said.
Takaichi, who said last week that Japan would increase its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by March, two years ahead of schedule, said that together with Trump, Japan was \u201cready to contribute towards peace and stability.\u201d
Takaichi gave Trump a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a putter that belonged to assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe<\/a>, a close ally of Trump who was also Takaichi\u2019s mentor.
Trump\u2019s assistant Margo Martin posted a video<\/a> of the two leaders with the gifts on X.
Speaking before his meeting with Takaichi, Trump said Abe was \u201ca great friend of mine.\u201d His killing in 2022 was \u201cso shocking,\u201d Trump told Takaichi, \u201cbut he spoke so well of you even before we knew what was going to happen in your ascension.\u201d
A man accused of fatally shooting Abe is set to go on trial<\/a> today in the western Japanese city of Nara, where Abe was killed while he was giving a speech during an election campaign.
In a final event at the Akasaka Palace, Trump and Takaichi posed for a photo with Japanese families whose loved ones were abducted by North Korea<\/a> in the 1960s and \u201970s.
Though some were later returned to Japan,\u00a0the Japanese government continues to press North Korea to provide full details about everyone who was abducted and return any who are still alive.
<\/span>President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi today, with family members of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Harnik \/ Getty Images<\/span>
\u201cThe U.S. is with them all the way,\u201d Trump said of Japan\u2019s efforts.
Asked whether he would speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about the abductions, Trump said, \u201cWe\u2019ll be discussing it.\u201d
During today\u2019s bilateral meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi <\/a>announced that she is nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize<\/a>. She then presented the papers to him.
Trump did not win this year\u2019s prize, but his supporters argue that the Gaza peace deal<\/a> makes him the most deserving candidate for 2026.
NBC News<\/p>\n

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Morning Rundown: Hurricane Melissa nears landfall, ICE leadership shakeup, and Messi ponders another World CupEarlier, President Donald Trump met with newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.China\u2019s foreign minister said he hoped that China and the U.S. could \u201cmeet each other halfway\u201d in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}