KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — President Donald Trump touched down in Malaysia early Sunday morning, opening a weeklong diplomatic mission across Asia that could redefine Washington’s role in a region increasingly shaped by China’s influence and fraught with economic rivalries.
The visit — his first major overseas trip of his second term — comes at a critical moment for global stability. From trade tensions with Canada and China to fragile ceasefires in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Trump’s itinerary blends diplomacy, economics, and high drama in equal measure.
A Grand Welcome in Kuala Lumpur
After nearly 24 hours of travel aboard Air Force One, including refueling stops in Doha and Tokyo, Trump arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport just before 10 a.m. local time. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim greeted him with a red-carpet ceremony ahead of the ASEAN Summit, where Trump will formally sign a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia — a deal he has repeatedly called a “major success in peace diplomacy.”
“I told the leader of Malaysia, who’s a very good man, I said, ‘I think I owe you a trip,’” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One before landing. “And that’s why we’re stopping in Malaysia.”
The peace accord marks the formal end to months of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. The two nations reached a ceasefire earlier this year after Trump reportedly warned their leaders that continued hostilities would jeopardize trade relations with Washington. Cambodia’s prime minister later nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary statesmanship.”
Tariffs on Canada: A Mid-Flight Announcement
Midway through his flight to Asia, Trump reignited tensions closer to home by announcing a 10% increase in tariffs on Canadian imports, citing a controversial ad from Ontario’s provincial government that criticized U.S. trade policy using clips of former President Ronald Reagan.
“Canada was caught, red-handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10%.”
The move threatens to deepen the rift between the U.S. and its second-largest trading partner. Ontario Premier Doug Ford later confirmed the ad would be paused after the weekend’s World Series broadcasts but claimed his government had “achieved its goal” by sparking debate over tariffs.
Peace, Pressure, and the Middle East
Even as he shifted focus toward Asia, Trump’s foreign policy footprint extended into the Middle East. During a brief refueling stop in Doha, the president met Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani aboard Air Force One to discuss the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly,” Trump warned in a post shortly afterward. “If not, the countries involved in this great peace will take action.”
According to U.S. and Israeli officials, Hamas has so far returned 15 of the 28 bodies agreed to under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Trump described the ongoing effort as “real peace,” adding that an international stabilization force for Gaza could be deployed “pretty quickly.”
Courting Allies, Confronting Rivals
From Kuala Lumpur, Trump will travel to Tokyo for a meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the nation’s first female leader. The two leaders spoke by phone earlier in the week, with Trump calling her “great, beautiful, and very friendly.”
Takaichi, known for her conservative views and close ties to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said she looked forward to “a candid conversation” about regional security and trade.
Trump’s next stop will be Seoul, South Korea, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The meeting, billed as one of the most consequential of the trip, comes amid an ongoing trade war and recent U.S. sanctions that prompted Chinese energy firms to scale back purchases of Russian oil.
“I’m hoping for a comprehensive deal,” Trump said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, and I think President Xi knows we both need stability.”
The Putin Pause
One notable absence from Trump’s Asia agenda is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said he canceled a planned summit after concluding that a breakthrough on Ukraine “didn’t feel right.”
“I could say almost any one of the deals I’ve already done was more difficult than Russia and Ukraine,” he said. “But it didn’t work out that way.”
Trump has insisted he will not meet Putin again until a “credible path to peace” emerges. The White House said new sanctions on Moscow will remain in place “until further notice.”
Domestic Shadows Follow Abroad
Back home, Trump’s trip unfolds against a backdrop of a prolonged government shutdown, now stretching into its fourth week. Thousands of federal workers remain furloughed, and the Department of Agriculture has warned that it cannot fund food stamps in November without congressional action.
Pressed on the issue before takeoff, Trump assured reporters, “Everybody is going to be in good shape,” though he offered no specific plan to reopen the government.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, traveling separately, wrapped up meetings in Israel before joining the president in Asia. Rubio’s discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu focused on hostage recovery efforts and long-term disarmament in Gaza.
Testing Trump’s Global Balancing Act
This whirlwind tour — his most ambitious foreign trip since returning to office — comes as Trump seeks to reaffirm America’s global influence amid skepticism from allies and rivals alike.
In Southeast Asia, leaders see Trump as both a dealmaker and a disruptor. His tariff-driven “America First” policies have unsettled global markets, yet his willingness to engage in direct diplomacy has yielded tangible results, from Middle East ceasefires to border peace in Asia.
For Trump, the trip represents a chance to turn those flashes of diplomacy into lasting legacy.
“People said peace couldn’t be done,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “But we’re doing it — one deal at a time.”
As Air Force One departs Kuala Lumpur for Tokyo, all eyes will be on whether the self-styled master negotiator can translate his unpredictable brand of diplomacy into enduring stability across a volatile region — and perhaps bring some of that calm back home to Washington.