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NY Times, August 14 2017
Trump to Guam Governor: North Korea Threats Will Boost Tourism ‘Tenfold’
By MAR-VIC CAGURANGAN
HAGATNA, Guam — If there’s one thing that Guam does not have to worry
about while the tiny island is in the nuclear cross hairs of North
Korea, it’s tourism, President Trump told the island’s governor in a
phone call made public on Saturday.
The threat by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to create “an
enveloping fire” around the tiny United States territory in the Western
Pacific will bolster Guam tourism “tenfold,” Mr. Trump said in the
recorded conversation with Gov. Eddie Calvo.
The recording was put on the Republican governor’s Facebook page and
other social media accounts.
Mr. Trump said: “I have to tell you, you have become extremely famous
all over the world. They are talking about Guam; and they’re talking
about you.” And when it comes to tourism, he added, “I can say this:
You’re going to go up, like, tenfold with the expenditure of no money.”
President Trump to Governor Calvo on North Korea threats: "We are with
you 1000%" Video by Eddie Calvo
Mr. Calvo agreed: “It’s a paradise. We got 95 percent occupancy and
after all this stuff calms down, we’re going to have 110 percent occupancy.”
The president responded, “You just went to 110, I think.”
Efforts to reach the White House on Saturday for comment were not
immediately successful.
Guam’s $5 billion economy is fueled mainly by tourism and the United
States military, which occupies about 30 percent of the island and is
looking to expand. The island, roughly the size of Chicago and home to
about 160,000 people, is about 2,200 miles southeast of North Korea.
The conversation, in which both men praised each other, differed
drastically from Mr. Trump’s contentious calls with leaders of Australia
and Mexico in the early days of his administration. Transcripts of those
calls were leaked this month.
“We are with you 1,000 percent,” Mr. Trump said in the call to Mr.
Calvo, who invited the president to the island. “You are safe. We’re
with you 1,000 percent.”
Mr. Trump added of Guam: “It just looks like a beautiful place.”
Mr. Trump had threatened to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea for any
provocation. Alluding to Mr. Kim, he told the governor, “You notice he
hasn’t spoken recently. He doesn’t talk so much anymore. We’ll see how
it all works out.”
He added: “This is between you and I. But you don’t talk like they talk.
You can’t do that. You can’t do that with people like us.”
While Guam has generally been calm about the escalating threats of a
missile attack, some were not thrilled by the tone of the conversation
between the two men.
“Listening to that call left me feeling disgusted,” said Andrea Nicole
Grajek, a local artist from Dededo village. “I was so shocked I was
actually crying. They’re leaders discussing a rise in fame and tourism,
while the world is watching our island carefully to see if we’ll still
be here tomorrow.”
The threats of possible aggression against Guam — often referred to as
the “tip of the spear” — have become a focal point of debate about the
presence of United States military forces on the island.
Activists who are advocating Guam’s independence from the United States
argue that the presence of the military installations has made the
island a magnet for attack. Others contend that the presence of the
United States defense system is necessary, given the threats in the region.
“I think Guam is being used as a kind of pawn in this game,” said Robert
Underwood, president of the University of Guam. “I think it’s like our
role in life.”
Mr. Underwood, a former Guam delegate to Congress, said Guam should find
a way to take advantage of its relationship with the federal government
if the island continues as the platform to project the United States’
military power in Asia.
“I think we should get more out of this relationship than what we are
getting now,” he said.
Mr. Calvo, however, told Mr. Trump that he had “never felt more safe or
so confident than with you at the helm. So, with all the criticism going
on over there from a guy who is being targeted, we need a president like
you. So I’m just so thankful. I’m glad you’re holding the helm.”
Mr. Trump responded: “We’re going to do a great job. You don’t have to
worry about a thing. They should have had me eight years ago, somebody
with my thought process.”
He added, “And frankly, you could’ve said that for the last three
presidents.”
Glenn Thrush contributed reporting from Bedminster, N.J.
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