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Trump invited the new Japanese PM to the White House and then made jokes about Pearl Harbor in front of her. In his framing the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor is, of course, a good thing and not a cause of national shame that led to millions of Japanese dying.
We went in very hard and we didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? OK, why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? You believe in surprise, I think, much more than us.
On March 20 2026 04:21 JimmyJRaynor wrote: the humour is a pressure release valve so that antisemitism doesn't fester under the surface.
Of course, we make jokes about Jewish stereotypes so that antisemitism goes away. It's only a pity that jokes about Jews didn't exist before the 1930s, the entire Holocaust could have been avoided.
I don‘t know the motives for people doing that in the middle ages, but it can be assumed that Hitler did it for financial motives and because it was fitting for his approach to influencing the masses into a warlike mindset.
I really believe it's social envy. Very simple. Monkey becomes very angry seeing group of monkeys being so tight with one another. Monkey devises Machiavellistic scheme to band other monkeys together to destroy the group that's getting along so well. Repeat ad infinitum.
Are we sure it was a joke? "Demented 80-year-old erroneously remembers fighting in World War II" isn't impossible. Although, "moronic dipshit thinks attack on Pearl Harbor was an astounding military success that led to the Empire of Japan winning WWII" isn't impossible either, which is what he would be implying if it was a joke. He could have just as easily compared his attack on Iran to the Battle of Midway, which would've been equally embarrassing from a diplomatic point of view but immensely less stupid from a historical/military point of view.
A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
On March 20 2026 04:21 JimmyJRaynor wrote: the humour is a pressure release valve so that antisemitism doesn't fester under the surface.
Of course, we make jokes about Jewish stereotypes so that antisemitism goes away. It's only a pity that jokes about Jews didn't exist before the 1930s, the entire Holocaust could have been avoided.
If you have a direct rebuttal to the logical flow of my post... go for it. if you do not think it offers a pressure relief valve... state your case.
Dealing directly with your point, the cause of WW2 and the Holocaust is basic high school history. Had the allies (a) given Germany a viable deal at the end of WW1 (b) not totally demoralized the defeated Germans (c) the allies behaved as though Germans were beyond redemption as a people the chance Germans would vote for a leader like Adolf Hitler is a lot lower.
The Treaty of Versailles weakened the German economy, created political instability, fueled anger and nationalism. The Germans would be less likely to be open minded about the only leader giving them hope... Adolf Hitler.
When you defeat your opponent... and then crush them into dust while laughing at them you create a breeding ground for guys like Adolf HItler, Jesse Van Rootselaar, and Marc Lepine to go into suicide-murder mode. Once they are in murder-suicide mode you're fucked. They want to die. You have nothing to bargain. You must stop it before it happens.
Fortunately, the Allies learned this lesson in 1945 and created a completely different kind of peace at the end of WW2 versus WW1 and the Treaty of Versailles.
The 1919 deal was about punishing and weakening Germany, short term settlement, economic strain, blame focused. The 1945 peace agreement was about controlling, rebuilding, and integrating Germany, long term strategy, economic recovery, and focused on stability.
The Treaty of Versailles imposed stiff reparations, territorial losses, and military limits. This created a politically unstablem, isolated German government. Obviously, this is fertile ground for extremism. After WW2 Germany was occupied and divided, full denazification, military dismantled only initially. Later, a shift towards rebuilding.
after WW2 the allies offered the Marshall Plan and a massive US investment in West Germany. This created prosperity and with people living decent lives.. its hard for extremism to take root. West Germany evolved into a stable democracy. In WW1 Germany was isolated while AFTER WW2 Germany was eventually reintegrated into the global system and NATO.
So you have a criminal... do you lock him up and throw away the key? or do you rehab the guy? I say you rehab him. The Allies rehabed Germany after WW2. The Allies locked Germany up and threw away the key in 1919.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
On March 20 2026 05:11 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Dealing directly with your point, the cause of WW2 and the Holocaust is basic high school history
You probably should have taken classes a little more advanced than the basic high school ones tbh. I don't disagree that your explanation of events is a basic high school one, albeit one 40 years out of date, but I don't see that as a good thing.
On March 20 2026 05:11 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Dealing directly with your point, the cause of WW2 and the Holocaust is basic high school history
You probably should have taken classes a little more advanced than the basic high school ones tbh. I don't disagree that your explanation of events is a basic high school one, albeit one 40 years out of date, but I don't see that as a good thing.
you're not dealing directly with any of the points i made. so i'll leave it at that.
if you do not understand the basic emotional pressure relief valve mechanism i brought up we'll just leave it there. you can't understand the underlying purpose of Nathan Fielder's humour i guess.
"the Summit Ice jacket is a quality fabric, stretchable, its 2 way breathable and 6 million jews did die"
Jimmy should have been banned the moment he bragged about supporting rapist world leaders in two separate countries. Any brain damage you get from engaging with him after that is on you.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
What it was was a dodge of a rather pertinent question in order to hide the rather embarrassing situation Trump has gotten himself into. Because building consensus in advance and lining up a coalition to go in together is for girlie men like Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Trump and team thought they could fall victim to one of the classic blunders in getting involved in a land war in Asia and with macho swagger demand allies join in after the fact. . . and so far no-one has shown up.
But he should look to his own house if he is truly concerned about operational security as it was not NATO that was texting operational plans to journalists.
But it is true that Japan never told their American ally??? that they were intent on attacking America.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
This is how soft power dies.
Yeah, I tried to detail how some people believe a joke can't be funny because of the setting, or the surrounding world of the person making it, but I think you've ultimately done a better job than me in explaining that.
We can do all the throat clearing about insensitive jokes and what should and shouldn't be done in diplomacy and this isn't how a world leader should talk. If you really want it. Feels almost rote at this point, given the consistency. We're coming up on the 11th year anniversary for "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." So 11 years of typing the obvious.
On March 20 2026 05:11 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Dealing directly with your point, the cause of WW2 and the Holocaust is basic high school history
You probably should have taken classes a little more advanced than the basic high school ones tbh. I don't disagree that your explanation of events is a basic high school one, albeit one 40 years out of date, but I don't see that as a good thing.
you're not dealing directly with any of the points i made. so i'll leave it at that.
Because it's fundamentally wrong in a way that is far beyond the effort you deserve.
The idea that Versailles was soft on Germany and WW2 was harsh on Germany is simply not historically accurate.
After WW2 Germany was partitioned and occupied. It is still occupied. Large chunks of Germany were given away to other countries. Others were completely deindustrialized. The post WW2 settlement was far, far harsher than Versailles.
The idea that American money went into rebuilding Germany after WW2 but not after WW1 completely ignores the Dawes and Young plans. Weimar Germany didn't even pay the reparations, they established a triangular system in which the war debts of Britain and France to America were paid by new loans issued to Germany by American banks. By the time WW2 broke out the outstanding US loans to Germany actually exceeded the total reparations imposed upon Germany at Versailles. Germany wasn't being drained of cash, even after the reparations were taken into account Germany was a net recipient of cash during that period. Cash that was never repaid due to the declaration of war.
And Versailles was not enforced. If at any time during German rearmament Britain and France had stepped in to enforce the terms of Versailles WW2 would have been averted. Versailles didn't cause WW2, a failure to enforce Versailles caused WW2. Britain and France were far, far too lenient on Germany. But of course this is exactly what commentators at the time said too. That there were fundamental causes for WW1 and that none of those had been addressed in the settlement and so of course there would be a second war.
People like simple one line historical explanations that generally go along the lines of "people in the past dumb, people now smart". "If only those foolish allies could have seen that reintegrating Germany into the global economy and treating them with extreme lenience was the way then this all could have been avoided". Having entirely solved the crises of the past at the age of 13 armed only with an introductory hour of study each week for 3 months they move on, confident that they know all that they need to know.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
This is how soft power dies.
Yeah, I tried to detail how some people believe a joke can't be funny because of the setting, or the surrounding world of the person making it, but I think you've ultimately done a better job than me in explaining that.
We can do all the throat clearing about insensitive jokes and what should and shouldn't be done in diplomacy and this isn't how a world leader should talk. If you really want it. Feels almost rote at this point, given the consistency. We're coming up on the 11th year anniversary for "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." So 11 years of typing the obvious.
As always, communication is a two way street. The recipient is part of the conversation. If they feel insulted (even if you didn't mean to insult them) you failed in communication. Do it often enough and people don't want to talk to you. Most people do a mistake here or there and that is forgiven if you simply apologize for it or simply don't do it more than a few times in total.
As always the problem with Trump is that he doesn't even realize he made a mistake. Thus he cannot learn from it and will repeat it again. The Ukraine cases were worse than this but is of similar nature. Greenland etc etc.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
This is how soft power dies.
Yeah, I tried to detail how some people believe a joke can't be funny because of the setting, or the surrounding world of the person making it, but I think you've ultimately done a better job than me in explaining that.
We can do all the throat clearing about insensitive jokes and what should and shouldn't be done in diplomacy and this isn't how a world leader should talk. If you really want it. Feels almost rote at this point, given the consistency. We're coming up on the 11th year anniversary for "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." So 11 years of typing the obvious.
As always, communication is a two way street. The recipient is part of the conversation. If they feel insulted (even if you didn't mean to insult them) you failed in communication. Do it often enough and people don't want to talk to you. Most people do a mistake here or there and that is forgiven if you simply apologize for it or simply don't do it more than a few times in total.
As always the problem with Trump is that he doesn't even realize he made a mistake. Thus he cannot learn from it and will repeat it again.
Is it a mistake if you did it on purpose.
The man has proven time and time again that he’s an asshole and people either enjoy that aspect of him or will bend themselves into loops trying to find other meaning to him being an asshole.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
This is how soft power dies.
Yeah, I tried to detail how some people believe a joke can't be funny because of the setting, or the surrounding world of the person making it, but I think you've ultimately done a better job than me in explaining that.
We can do all the throat clearing about insensitive jokes and what should and shouldn't be done in diplomacy and this isn't how a world leader should talk. If you really want it. Feels almost rote at this point, given the consistency. We're coming up on the 11th year anniversary for "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." So 11 years of typing the obvious.
As always, communication is a two way street. The recipient is part of the conversation. If they feel insulted (even if you didn't mean to insult them) you failed in communication. Do it often enough and people don't want to talk to you. Most people do a mistake here or there and that is forgiven if you simply apologize for it or simply don't do it more than a few times in total.
As always the problem with Trump is that he doesn't even realize he made a mistake. Thus he cannot learn from it and will repeat it again.
Is it a mistake if you did it on purpose.
Depends on the outcome you want. If you want Japan to help you with Iran it is clearly a mistake. If you want Japan to tell your other allies that Iran is a bad deal and stay out, it isn't a mistake.
On March 20 2026 05:09 dyhb wrote: A Japanese reporter asks, simplifying some dialogue here, "Why didn't you tell US allies, like Europe and Japan, about the war?"
"We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
I guess it depends on your sense of humor whether you think it's a funny joke or not, or whether you think it's a joke in bad taste and choose not to laugh, or if in fact funny jokes do require a backdrop that isn't the chief architect of the American descent into fascism, the fragmentation of old alliances, and war in the middle east. If you can lay aside the setting for the joke and "state of the world" bit, I don't know if it cracks Trump's top five jokes. It was a little too obvious of a crack to make.
It's a Mean Girls style power play joke that bullies make. You invite someone over, joke about something that is a sensitive subject for them, then laugh in their face when they don't call you out on it. For bullies getting away with making the joke is why it feels good, it's at someone else's expense and they just sat there and took it. Nothing is more funny than humiliating a friend.
You can tell it's a bully joke and not a funny joke from the way it landed. Trump's group of cheerleading weasels smirked and laughed while the Japanese delegation remained entirely stoic.
This is how soft power dies.
Yeah, I tried to detail how some people believe a joke can't be funny because of the setting, or the surrounding world of the person making it, but I think you've ultimately done a better job than me in explaining that.
We can do all the throat clearing about insensitive jokes and what should and shouldn't be done in diplomacy and this isn't how a world leader should talk. If you really want it. Feels almost rote at this point, given the consistency. We're coming up on the 11th year anniversary for "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." So 11 years of typing the obvious.
As always, communication is a two way street. The recipient is part of the conversation. If they feel insulted (even if you didn't mean to insult them) you failed in communication. Do it often enough and people don't want to talk to you. Most people do a mistake here or there and that is forgiven if you simply apologize for it or simply don't do it more than a few times in total.
As always the problem with Trump is that he doesn't even realize he made a mistake. Thus he cannot learn from it and will repeat it again.
Is it a mistake if you did it on purpose.
Depends on the outcome you want. If you want Japan to help you with Iran it is clearly a mistake. If you want Japan to tell your other allies that Iran is a bad deal and stay out, it isn't a mistake.
It’s already too late to get allies to help you out in a collision of the willing because Trump and this administration doesn’t believe in even bothering to try manufacturing consent.
Like this administration believes in zero sum everything. They believe nations will come help solve this issue because the world economy is cooked if it isn’t resolved and the US believes it js better positioned than other countries to absorb the blow.
So I don’t think this administration believes it’s made a mistake or has really made a mistake in the context of their belief system because the only thing this administration believes in is in forcefully coercing people to indulge in their zero sum world view. And I would argue that some nations will eventually lick the boot when the fuel situation starts to get economically untenable.
EPT
