SEOUL — President Trump kicked off a high-stakes G20 summit in Japan by nudging aside trade and defense spending fights to play nice with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while thanking Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for using his auto industry to create jobs in the U.S.
Major Japanese brands like Nissan, Honda and Toyota have poured money into sites across the country, including Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Michigan, according to a printed handout from Mr. Abe.
“They’re building magnificent plants,” Mr. Trump said from Osaka.
Mr. Trump also mused that it was his second visit to the island nation in as many months.
“We just left Japan and now I’m back,” Mr. Trump quipped, and recalled handing out a sumo award on his last trip. “Everybody’s talking about it all over the world.”
Mr. Trump will meet with a star-studded cast of leaders during the two-day summit, before heading to Seoul to discuss the nuclear issue in North Korea with his South Korean allies.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Abe are clearly fond of each other. They’ve bonded over golf, and Mr. Trump in May agreed to a delay a thorny decision about auto tariffs until after domestic elections in Japan this summer.
Asked whether he planned to go forward with tariffs on Japanese automakers, Mr. Trump said, “It will be very positive.”
The White House said behind closed doors, the leaders continued to discuss a way forward on trade and ways to use the American-Japanese alliance to protect sensitive information and technology.
Mr. Abe later joined Mr. Trump for a joint meeting with Mr. Modi. The U.S. president initiated a three-way fist bump with the leaders and congratulated Mr. Modi on his recent election victory.
Mr. Trump sounded upbeat about India, even though he lashed out at the country one day earlier for raising tariffs on U.S. goods.
“This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn!” Mr. Trump tweeted en route to Japan.
By Friday, Mr. Trump was predicting a breakthrough on trade with Mr. Modi.
Mr. Trump also talked up Mrs. Merkel, nudging aside his complaints about the German’s share of mutual defense spending to highlight their alliance.
“She’s a fantastic person, a fantastic woman and I’m glad to have her as a friend,” he said.
Amid it all, the president found time to chime in on the Democratic primary debate back home, arguing the contenders’ seemed to put illegal immigrants before American citizens in a segment on health coverage.
“I just passed a television set on the way here and I saw that … maximum health care was given to 100% of the illegal
immigrants coming into our country, by the Democrats,” Mr. Trump said. “And unfortunately they didn’t discuss what they’re giving to American citizens. That’s not a good thing.”
Later Friday, Mr. Trump is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tensions with Iran will loom large in the Putin meeting, since Russia is a prominent backer of Tehran.
It’s unclear, however, how far Mr. Trump will wade into questions around election interference.
The president says he is tough on Russia, though he tends to shy away from any talk of 2016 meddling that could undermine the legitimacy of his win.
He will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday to discuss the escalating trade war between their countries.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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