Why Trump’s Asia trip is risky business

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Daily News, Politics, Government

3.9 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

President Donald Trump is headed to Asia later today for a trip filled with a host of meetings on the agenda. Most notably, Trump will meet in person with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week for the first time since 2019. Playbook’s Adam Wren and White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss what to expect, and what makes this trip the riskiest of Trump’s second term.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This football season, Americans want to watch sports, not Big Pharma ads.
0:05.5	But this fall, pharma companies spent millions on advertisements pushing their products.
0:11.0	What's worse?
0:12.0	Big Pharma increased spending even as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle tried to stop their misleading ads.
0:18.4	Enough is enough.
0:19.9	Big Pharma needs to lower drug prices, not spend more on
0:23.2	ads that nobody wants. Sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance, Inc.
0:33.6	Today on the Playbook podcast, President Donald Trump heads to Asia tonight, what we're watching.
0:40.2	I have a glimpse into my exclusive conversation with Detroit mayor and independent candidate for Michigan governor, Mike Duggan, and a look into New York Attorney General Letitia James's last-minute case request.
0:54.1	Hello, I'm Adam Redd.
0:55.9	And I'm Megan Messerly.
0:57.5	It's Friday, October 24th.
0:59.7	So without further ado, here's what's driving the day.
1:04.1	President Donald Trump is headed to Asia tonight for a trip during which he will stop in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.
1:11.7	Yesterday, press secretary Caroline Levitt said Trump would participate in a bilateral meeting
1:16.6	with the Prime Minister of Malaysia after arriving on Sunday afternoon.
1:21.3	That evening, he will participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders working dinner.
1:28.6	Trump will also visit Japan to participate in a bilateral meeting with the new Japanese
1:34.1	Prime Minister Senei Takaiichi.
1:37.0	Also reportedly on the agenda for the Asia trip is a bilateral meeting between Donald Trump
1:43.3	and Xi Jinping, his first in-person meeting
1:46.7	with the president of China since 2019. Megan, you write in your story that this is, quote,
	...

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