President Donald Trump took his self-proclaimed “stable genius” act overseas, and it just crashed and burned.
During his Asia tour, Trump boasted about what he called a $10 billion investment deal with Toyota, touting it as proof of his unrivaled deal-making prowess. But the celebration was short-lived. As it turns out, Toyota says the deal doesn’t exist.
“Yesterday I was with Mr. Toyota in Japan, and he’s just announced he’s gonna spend, uh, they’re gonna spend $10 billion, and they’re gonna build new car plants,” Donald Trump told reporters, mispronouncing the CEO’s name, Akio Toyoda, during a news conference at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. “And they’re gonna build ’em in numerous states, about six or seven different states.
Trump: I said, “What’s your name?” He said, “Toyota.” I said, “You’re rich.” pic.twitter.com/45ZRL9Dd81
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 29, 2025
Moments later, Toyota politely dismantled his story. Company executive Hiroyuki Ueda told reporters, “During the first Trump administration, I think the figure was roughly around $10 billion, so while we didn’t say the same scale, we did explain that we’ll keep investing and providing employment as before.”
Ueda clarified, “So, probably because of that context, the figure of about $10 billion came up. Therefore, we didn’t specifically say that we’ll invest $10 billion over the next few years.” He also confirmed that Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda did not discuss any new U.S. investments during a brief meeting with Trump in Tokyo. In other words, Trump’s “$10 billion victory” was pure imagination.
Social media wasted no time roasting the president. Threads user Betty Meister summed it up perfectly: “Donald Trump claimed he met with ‘Mr. Toyota’ and told him he’s rich. Trump claimed he struck a $10 billion deal with Mr. Toyota. Toyota released a statement saying they didn’t agree to any amount, but that they spoke about how Toyota had invested $10 billion during his first administration. This man has completely lost it. BTW, Toyota invested around $20 billion during the Biden administration.
“Toyota was quick to pump the brakes on a claim Trump made this week regarding an alleged promise by the Japanese automaker to invest $10 billion in 🇺🇸”
“we didn’t specifically say that we’ll invest $10 billion over the next few years."
Imagine that. https://t.co/hrS2ff9hUe pic.twitter.com/ewcbNnSt0i
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 31, 2025
Another user chimed in: “And btw, HIS NAME IS NOT ‘Mr. TOYOTA!!’” Others were even more brutal. “Dementia Don going off again,” wrote one critic. Another fumed, “When you have to fact check everything someone says, albeit the President of the USA 🇺🇸, we are truly screwed.” One user nailed it: “OUCH: Toyota just HUMILIATED Trump on his Asia trip. When Donald Trump bragged he got Toyota to invest $10B in new funding to America, Toyota executive Ueda quickly SHUT HIM DOWN, saying that number is actually ZERO.”
“Toyota is not playing his games!!” added another. And the internet’s verdict got darker still: “The Emperor has no brain.” On X, user Master Sam delivered the final blow: “A typical Trump deal. All bullshit wrapped in arrogance topped with ridiculous made up lies. The US won’t make it through another 3 years of this nonsense.”
The blunder came as Donald Trump met Japan’s new prime minister, and first-ever female leader, Sanae Takaichi, who agreed to fast-track a military buildup and strike trade deals on rare earth minerals. The White House also touted “major” trade progress with China, though, once again, there’s no actual deal on paper. Trump’s Asia trip included stops in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea—but it’s his “$10 billion fantasy” that’s grabbing all the headlines.
