Trump Hosts Widow of Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe at Mar-a-Lago

The go to builds on the Trumps’ lengthy, pleasant relationship with the Abes.

Akie Abe, the widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, met with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Dec. 15.

Sharing the information in a social media publish on X, soon-to-be First Woman Melania Trump stated it was “a privilege” to host Japan’s former first woman on the Trumps’ Palm Seaside residence once more.

“We fondly remembered her late husband, former Prime Minister Abe, and honored his exceptional legacy,” she wrote in an X publish, accompanying her feedback with a photograph of the three of them.

Shinzo Abe was Japan’s longest-serving chief. He held the workplace of prime minister from 2012 till 2020. He was assassinated on July 8, 2022, whereas delivering a marketing campaign speech.

The Trumps loved a pleasant relationship with the Abes in the course of the first Trump administration. After the 2016 presidential election, Shinzo Abe was the primary world chief to congratulate Trump in individual, gifting him a gold-painted golf membership.

Within the years following, the Trumps hosted the Abes usually—together with on Melania’s forty ninth birthday, which they celebrated over dinner on the White Home.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was denied a gathering with Trump final month. Ishiba, who was sworn in on Oct. 1, had hoped to cease and meet with the president-elect after attending the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Lima, Peru. He informed reporters that Trump’s workforce knowledgeable him that the Logan Act prohibits such a go to earlier than the inauguration.

The Logan Act, relationship again to 1799, bars personal residents from partaking in diplomatic talks or negotiations with international leaders on america’ behalf with out the permission of the federal authorities.

The president-elect had dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 28. However even when that go to violated the regulation, it’s unlikely to end in any authorized motion.

Regardless of its frequent dialogue as a political matter, the Logan Act has solely been enforced twice in U.S. historical past. Each circumstances occurred within the nineteenth century and neither resulted in a conviction.

Trump shall be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2025.

Reuters contributed to this report.