Trump Says ‘Most Important Day’ Is Summit He Had Planned to Skip

by Dramelin 6:30 PM 0 comments

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, on Nov.
Trump begins a 5 country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippians.
  President Donald Trump said Friday that he will add a day to the end of his five-nation tour of Asia, saying he would now stay for “the most important day” of a regional summit.
The president had been scheduled to return to the U.
13, a day before the start of the East Asia Summit, the traditional venue for discussing major regional policy issues such as North Korean aggression and China’s activities in the South China Sea.
Shortly after Trump’s departure from the White House on Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that plans had changed -- Trump was extending his trip by one day to attend the summit.
Foreign policy experts had warned that Trump’s decision to forgo the gathering -- which former President Barack Obama regularly attended -- could deepen anxieties among Asian partners over the U.
commitment to the region, especially in light of the escalating North Korean threat and Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“We’re staying the extra day because the following day is actually the most important day,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Hawaii.
Former Obama administration officials criticized Trump’s earlier decision not to attend, saying it would open the door for China to seize a leading role in the region.
“What we said prior to President Obama’s final trip to Asia is even truer today: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” said Ned Price, the chief National Security Council spokesman during the Obama administration.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump said that he had originally planned to spend a day in Hawaii at the end of the trip, but canceled to stay longer in the Philippines.
“I’m going to spend the extra day at the second conference, which is a very important conference,” he said.
— With assistance by Justin Sink (Corrects headline and first paragraph to clarify meaning of Trump’s quote.