Donald Trump praises himself on Twitter for ‘successful’ trip to Asia

Lydia Smith
Updated
Donald Trump waves as before boarding Air Force One to depart to the Philippines: AFP/Getty Images
Donald Trump waves as before boarding Air Force One to depart to the Philippines: AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump tweeted praise for his “long and successful” trip to Asia, after wrapping up his tour of the region.

“Our great country is respected again in Asia,” he wrote on Twitter. “You will see the fruits of our long but successful trip for many years to come!”

The US President has just finished a 12-day trip through Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, which included one-on-one meetings with leaders with a focus on trade.

The trip included a round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as an opera performance inside Beijing’s Forbidden City, at the invite of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr Trump also met with controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Regional experts have not been so positive with their assessments of the trip, which saw the US leader make few concrete accomplishments.

“The principal takeaway from Trump’s big Asia trip: virtually zero progress on any issue that matters to the Americans,” according to a report from the president of political risk consultancy, the Eurasia Group, Ian Bremmer wrote in .

“Ultimately, that’s the biggest win for China.”

Towards the end of the trip, Mr Trump also escalated a war of words with Kim Jong-un, taunting the North Korean leader over his height and weight.

“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would never call him ‘short and fat’?” he tweeted from Hanoi.

The US President also failed to raise human rights issues during his tour of Asia, particularly in relation to Mr Duterte’s war on drugs that has led to the deaths of more than 12,000 Filipinos, mostly the country’s urban poor.

At least 2,555 of the killings have been attributed to the Philippine National Police.

The President said he will make a “major” announcement on his discussions with world leaders during the tour.

“A lot of things are happening on trade and I’ll be announcing pretty much what happened here and also with other meetings, including with China, South Korea and lots of other places,” Trump said in the Philippines.

“We’ve made some very big steps with respect to trade, far bigger than anything you know,” he added.