U.S. President Donald Trump’s absence at several international summits in Asia this week isn’t a snub, Mike Pence told reporters en route to the region.
The vice president is due to arrive in Tokyo later Monday on a trip that will also take him to Singapore and Papua New Guinea. He faces the challenge of reassuring allies about U.S. policy toward Asia amid increasing doubts about its commitment and consistency.
The U.S.’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region “has never been stronger,” Pence told reporters in Alaska on Sunday night en route to Tokyo. Trump’s decision to skip the summits is “not in the least” a snub, he said, adding that the president is “where the American people would want him” in Paris for World War 1 commemorations.
Trump, by opting to skip meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a gathering of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation this week, became the first U.S. president not to attend since 2013, when then-President Barack Obama canceled his visit to deal with a government shutdown.
The president’s absence leaves Pence to fill a void that’s grown wider under Trump, who’s pulled out of a major Pacific trade deal, slapped tariffs on allies, and intensified a diplomatic and economic battle with China.
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05.02.2025