Former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has strongly criticised former President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S. policy in Asia, arguing that his trade and diplomatic decisions severely weakened Washington’s decades-long strategic efforts to counter China’s growing influence. Speaking on a podcast hosted by MediaTouch, Emanuel accused Trump of undermining critical alliances, mishandling relations with India, and pursuing personal and financial interests that ultimately benefited Beijing.

Emanuel, who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2022 to 2025, said Trump’s erratic approach to diplomacy and his transactional view of international relationships alienated key partners in the Indo-Pacific region. “Asian leaders went into meetings with Trump calculating how to avoid being embarrassed or attacked,” Emanuel remarked. “They were just trying to get out of the meeting with some wins and as little confrontation as possible.”

According to the former diplomat, these dynamics destabilized the foundation of U.S. policy in Asia — one built over four decades of coordination among allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India. Emanuel argued that Trump’s style not only disrupted ongoing cooperation but also reversed progress made in uniting U.S. allies against China’s coercive tactics.

He outlined how, during his tenure as ambassador, U.S. diplomacy was focused on “reversing the playbook on China” by bringing together nations that Beijing sought to isolate. “China tries to isolate Japan, Korea, the Philippines, or Australia through economic coercion,” Emanuel said. “By bringing everybody together — India, Australia, Japan, and the United States in the Quad, or Japan, Korea, and the U.S. in trilateral coordination — we isolated the isolator. China felt it, and they complained.”

However, Emanuel alleged that much of this careful strategy “was thrown away” under Trump’s leadership. He particularly pointed to Trump’s handling of India — a country long viewed in Washington as a crucial counterbalance to China’s power in the Indo-Pacific. “Our mismanagement of India, a major, major counterweight against China, has been one of the most damaging aspects of Trump’s foreign policy,” he said. “The President of the United States literally threw away 40 years of meticulous strategic planning and preparation.”

Emanuel suggested that Trump’s deteriorating relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was driven by ego and personal grievances rather than strategic considerations. According to him, the fallout occurred because Modi reportedly refused to endorse Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. “He threw it all away because Modi wouldn’t say that the President deserves a Nobel Prize for the ceasefire he worked out,” Emanuel claimed.

The diplomat further alleged that Trump’s pivot towards Pakistan was influenced by financial motives, calling it a “major strategic blunder.” Emanuel claimed that Trump’s administration courted Islamabad following a deal between the Pakistan Crypto Council and a firm in which Trump’s son, along with real estate developer Zach Witkoff’s son, held stakes. The deal, signed in April 2025, aimed to promote digital financial transactions in Pakistan.

“The President, out of ego and then out of money from Pakistan that was paying both his son and Witkoff’s son, made a major strategic blunder that China has used to their advantage,” Emanuel alleged. He argued that this move not only weakened U.S. credibility in South Asia but also gave Beijing greater room to maneuver economically and diplomatically across the region.

The allegations, if accurate, would mark one of the most serious charges against Trump’s post-presidential business dealings in Asia. Emanuel’s comments suggested that the intersection of Trump’s personal financial interests with U.S. foreign policy priorities undermined the very alliances Washington relied on to balance China’s influence.

Emanuel also took aim at Trump’s economic policies, particularly his imposition of tariffs on traditional U.S. allies. “The United States is tariffing our friends without considering the full picture — defense spending, political alignment, and our shared strategic interests against China,” he said. “Economic integration requires cooperation with allies, not confrontation.” He argued that these tariffs not only hurt economic ties but also sent mixed signals about U.S. reliability, prompting regional partners to hedge their bets between Washington and Beijing.

While Emanuel acknowledged that Trump’s unconventional and chaotic diplomatic approach had occasionally yielded results — citing his role in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza as an example — he warned that the same unpredictability was deeply counterproductive in Asia. “That chaotic process worked in the final days in Gaza,” he said. “But that same tactic is now a detriment. It’s a liability when it comes to confronting China.”

Emanuel’s remarks come at a time when U.S.-China competition remains the defining feature of global geopolitics, with both nations vying for influence across Asia. Under President Joe Biden, Washington had sought to rebuild the trust of allies through initiatives like the Quad (comprising the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia) and expanded trilateral cooperation between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. Emanuel himself played a key role in strengthening these ties during his tenure in Tokyo, helping to facilitate joint defense discussions and economic coordination.

However, he suggested that Trump’s return to office — or even his continuing influence on U.S. foreign policy discourse — could undo those efforts. “You can’t have a consistent Indo-Pacific strategy when personal relationships, business interests, and short-term optics dictate your policies,” Emanuel said. “When you alienate India, antagonize Japan with tariffs, and cozy up to Pakistan for money, you’re effectively handing China an open field.”

Emanuel’s criticism reflects a broader concern among former U.S. officials that the Trump administration’s foreign policy in Asia was marked by inconsistency and self-interest. Many analysts argue that the region requires long-term, steady engagement — a quality often absent in Trump’s transactional style. By prioritizing unilateral trade actions and personal political gains, Trump’s approach, they say, risked alienating partners that are essential to maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.

India, in particular, occupies a central role in Washington’s Indo-Pacific vision. As the world’s largest democracy and a rapidly growing economy, India is seen as a natural counterweight to China. The U.S. and India have deepened defense and technology cooperation over the past decade, particularly through joint naval exercises and arms deals. However, Emanuel contends that Trump’s personal falling out with Modi and his subsequent overtures to Pakistan disrupted that trajectory.

“The India-U.S. relationship isn’t just about trade or defense,” Emanuel said. “It’s a strategic pillar that affects everything from technology partnerships to regional stability. When that relationship falters because of ego or greed, the entire regional balance shifts — and not in our favor.”

In his remarks, Emanuel concluded that repairing the damage done to U.S.-India relations and broader Indo-Pacific coordination would require time, consistency, and trust-building. “You can’t rebuild forty years of strategic architecture overnight,” he said. “But acknowledging what was lost — and why — is the first step.”