Japan need not worry about a major shake-up in its alliance with the United States if former U.S. President Donald Trump is returned to the White House in November, a former senior official in the Trump administration said Wednesday, amid concerns that Tokyo may be in a tougher spot than prior to his first term.
“My hope is should President Trump return to office ... I have every reason to believe that the same fundamental principles that guided his leadership from 2017 to 2021 will guide his leadership again," Alexander B. Gray, a former deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the White House National Security Council, told a news conference in Tokyo.
“This is a very different effort than 2016,” Gray said, claiming that Trump had been a political novice after his election that year, and was still finding his footing.