Fact Check: Did Trump say Japanese 'came through the Panama Canal' to attack Pearl Harbor?

WASHINGTON, DC: US President Donald Trump once said the Japanese came through the Panama Canal to attack Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

The same claim has been spreading in the form of a meme on Instagram and Facebook, where users have shared and reshared it widely.

Claim: Trump once said Japanese came through Panama Canal to attack Pearl Harbor 

On August 24, 2025, posts began circulating claiming Trump believed Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor during World War II by coming through the Panama Canal.

The meme suggested that this supposed statement was Trump’s reasoning for calling to “take back” control of the canal from Panama during his second term.

Fact Check: No evidence Donald Trump ever made this claim

There is no record of Trump ever saying Japan used the Panama Canal to attack Pearl Harbor. If the US president had made such a remark publicly, it would have been covered widely by national and international media outlets. Instead, the only mentions of this claim appear in social media memes and reposts of the same viral image.

A review of news databases and keyword searches for variations of “Trump Panama Canal Pearl Harbor” revealed no credible reports or transcripts of Trump making the statement.

What really happened in 1941?

Japan did not use the Panama Canal to strike Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy sailed aircraft carriers across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to waters north of Hawaii. Fighter planes were then launched from those carriers to carry out the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, killing around 2,400 Americans and prompting the United States to enter World War II.

The Panama Canal, located in Central America and under US control at the time, played no role in the attack. The National World War II Museum confirms that Japan’s assault came directly from the Pacific, not through the canal.

Donald Trump’s actual statements on the Canal

While Trump did not make the Pearl Harbor comment, he has repeatedly called for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal. During his second inauguration speech in January 2025, Trump claimed 38,000 lives were lost during construction and alleged that China was now operating the canal.

He said, "We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama's promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form.  And that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal.  And we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back."

Both statements are inaccurate.

According to historians, roughly 5,600 workers died during construction, most of them from Barbados and other Caribbean nations. Roughly 300 were American workers.

Panama, not China, controls the canal, though US experts have flagged concerns about Chinese-linked companies managing ports in the region.

Past controversies around Pearl Harbor

Trump has previously been accused of ignorance about Pearl Harbor’s history.

The 2020 book A Very Stable Genius reported that during a 2017 visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, Trump asked then–Chief of Staff John Kelly, “What’s this all about?” suggesting limited knowledge of the attack’s significance. Trump dismissed the book as “fake.”

He has also misstated key facts about Pearl Harbor before. In 2017, Trump tweeted that December 7, 1941, was “a day that will live in infamy,” misquoting Franklin D Roosevelt’s original line: “a day which will live in infamy.”

Trump never claimed that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor through the Panama Canal. The story originated with a meme and has no basis in fact.