President Donald Trump addresses U.S. soldiers upon arriving at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on Nov. 5. | Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images Trump sets aside bellicose rhetoric in opening address to Asia trip

YOKOTA AIR BASE, JAPAN – President Donald Trump bounded off Air Force One and delivered a restrained speech to a crowd of U.S. troops here Sunday, setting aside -- at least for now -- much of the bellicose rhetoric that had many U.S. allies worried ahead of his 12-day visit to Asia.

He didn’t mention North Korea directly. Nor did he berate other nations for not doing enough to stop the country from developing nuclear weapons. And he declined to call out China directly for what he has long complained are unfair trade practices.


Instead, the hundreds of troops here were treated to something of a pep rally that offered an early peek at the themes of his five-country tour.

Trump centered his remarks on the power of the U.S. military, sending a tacit message to North Korea.

“No one — no dictator, no regime, and no nation — should underestimate, ever, American resolve,” he said in an airplane hangar at the base about 25 miles west of downtown Tokyo. “Every once in a while in the past they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it?”

"You are the greatest threat to tyrants and dictators who seek to prey on the innocent,” he added.

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The president’s speech marked the start of a nearly two-week tour of Asia – his longest foreign trip since taking office. After departing Japan, Trump will stop in South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. He arrived here on Sunday morning after a stopover in Hawaii, where he visited Pearl Harbor.

The president met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later Sunday. The two leaders were playing a round of golf with Hideki Matsuyama, a Japanese professional golfer.

Trump and Abe have built a close relationship in recent months. Abe visited Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s lavish Florida club, in February and the two men have talked on the phone nearly two dozen times. White House aides say Trump is friendlier with Abe than almost any other foreign leader.

That means Trump’s first stop on his Asia trip is likely to be the smoothest. But it won’t be without potential tension. Shortly before the president’s arrival, a Japanese news outlet reported Sunday that Trump has wondered aloud in conversations with Southeast Asian leaders why Japan didn’t shoot down North Korean missiles that flew over the country earlier this year.

Trump has repeatedly called on China and other countries in Asia to do more to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile program. His aggressive rhetoric, which peaked during a September speech at the United Nations in which he threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, has alarmed many in the region. U.S. allies worry that the famously unpredictable president could further escalate the volatile situation here with more aggressive comments during his trip.

Trump's most revealing comments came earlier Sunday during remarks with reporters on Air Force One.

He appeared to bristle at the notion that Chinese President Xi Jinping was eclipsing the U.S. president's own power.

"Excuse me, so am I. Highest stock market in history, lowest unemployment in 17 years, a military that’s rapidly rebuilding, ISIS is virtually defeated in the Middle East," he said. "We are coming off some of the strongest numbers we’ve ever had, and he knows that and he respects that and he’s a friend of mine.”

China's ruling Communist Party recently elevated Xi to the same status as the nation's founding father, Mao Zedong.

Trump later credited himself personally for the stock market surge.

"But the reason our stock market is so successful is because of me. I’ve always been great with money," he said.

And though he didn't criticize China during his speech, he took a shot at the country in the remarks to reporters.

"[W]e have to do better with trade with China, because it’s a one-way street right now and it has been for many years," he said. "And we will."

And Trump couldn't help but tout his victory in last year's presidential election, noting that he was pushing to celebrate the anniversary, which falls during his Asia trip.

"We’ll have to celebrate together," he told reporters. "November 8. I hope we’ll all celebrate together, but — in fact I was going to have a big celebration party, and then I said, ‘Well …’ We’ll celebrate together."

