President Donald Trump will face an unusual dynamic when he flies to Asia this week: foreign leaders who view him as weakened by the results of Republicans’ historic defeats in this month’s midterm elections.
Trump will travel to Manila on Monday for the annual East Asia Summit, then travel to Shenzhen, China, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit. At these meetings, he will speak with a number of countries that have been hit by his aggressive tariffs and costly investment deals.
That includes South Korea, where Trump has threatened to scale back U.S. military exercises because he believes Seoul has been too slow to deliver on its $350 billion investment promise. India still bristles at the 50% tariffs imposed by Trump after his trade deal with the United States collapsed last year. The administration eased reciprocal tariffs on most Indian imports to 18% in February.
Asian leaders “will treat it with caution but keep their options open. They may still view a relationship with the United States as important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will follow Trump’s lead,” said one Asian diplomat, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of his comments.
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