Trump the ‘man of the moment; locals and tourists get up close to Trump-Kim summit action

SINGAPORE — Zimbabwean tourist Tracy Pereira was about to head out of the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on Monday morning (June 11) for some sightseeing when she was distracted by the media frenzy outside her hotel.

It turned out that the Ritz-Carlton had been chosen as the location for a surprise meeting between delegates from the United States (US) and North Korea, prompting curious guests such as Ms Pereira to join the excitement surrounding the high-profile Trump-Kim summit scheduled for Tuesday.

Local and foreign reporters mobbed North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-Hui and US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim as they left the hotel after the two-hour meeting, with the gathered media rushing forward and surrounding the cars ferrying the delegates.

Ms Pereira, 60, who owns a real estate business, caught the action from the hotel lobby.

Hailing Mr Trump’s efforts at world peace, she told TODAY: “Trump is God’s chosen man… I think it’s amazing what he has done. He is the man of the moment.”

“Who else as a world leader has been able to put up a meeting like this? It is fantastic. Let’s just hope that it has some good results… I don’t think Trump would have put himself up with (Kim Jong-Un) without some results.”

Chinese tourist Xue Chen Chen caught a glimpse of the delegates walking out of the Ritz-Carlton at about noon after staking out at the lobby for about an hour.

The 30-year-old engineer, who is here on a five-day holiday with his wife and six-year-old son, said he was considering extending his stay for another day so that he can soak in the summit action.

He said: “The meet is unthinkable...This development will definitely affect China. Back in China, we have been following this piece of news closely as well.”

Over at the Istana, Singaporeans and foreign visitors alike had turned up in full force to catch a glimpse of US president Donald Trump and his impressive motorcade before, as well as after his meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Armed with their camera phones and an occasional American flag, the crowd cheered as his nine-tonne bulletproof and bombproof Cadillac limousine, dubbed "the Beast”, roared past.

Among them were onlookers working in the vicinity, as well as Singaporeans who had made the trip from their homes to catch a glimpse of Mr Trump and his entourage.

Also in the crowd was American national Marc Servos, who was spotted wearing Mr Trump’s famous red cap emblazoned with the tagline from his 2016 presidential campaign, “Make America Great Again”. Mr Servos, who is based here as an English language instructor and business owner, said he came to show support for Mr Trump on this "historic occasion".

Ms Tay Yu Ming, 14, a student at Raffles Girls’ School, had travelled with her father from their Hougang home to the Istana in a bid to spot the American president. But the Republican fan was left disappointed after failing to spot him due to the large crowd outside.

The duo continued to chase Mr Trump for the rest of the afternoon, as they turned up at the US embassy and Shangri-La Hotel, where the American president is staying.

Not all who showed up were Trump supporters, though. American architect Daniel Laster was waiting outside the US Embassy with a placard that read, "Climate change is a bigger threat than Kim Jong-un". The 30-year-old, who has been based here since 2016, hoped Mr Trump would see his message while passing through town.

"I might follow him around, but I don't know how long I'll last... I mean to raise awareness about issues apart from denuclearisation," he said.

Over 400 members of the American community here also got an opportunity to meet with Mr Trump at Shangri-La Hotel on Monday.

The American President met personnel working for the US Embassy, US Navy, US Marine Corps, as well as their family members in a brief 15-min meet-and-greet session. He addressed the group on stage in a function room, and shook some hands on his way out.

Speaking to TODAY, Lt Commander Arlo Abrahamson, a public affairs officer with the US 7th Fleet - Task Force 73, said the President thanked them for their service overseas, and their work here preparing for the Trump-Kim Summit.

“It was an honour for the people to be able to meet the President,” said Mr Abrahamson.

Mr Trump also spoke about about US strategy in the region, and his hopes for the summit, said a 36-year-old American who declined to be named. The captain of a navy supply ship said: “(The meet-and-greet) was great. He is a very personable man.”

US Navy civil engineer Dawn Szewczyk, who is from Hawaii, took a photo with Mr Trump holding a piece of paper with the names of her sons.

“We are very excited because as a people, even in America, we don’t really have great access to the President, so it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting him,” said the 42-year-old, who works at Comlog Westpac, the logistics agent for the US 7th Fleet.

“I am glad that he was very grateful for all of our efforts here in Singapore, recognising such a small community and giving us great appreciation for that.”

After interacting with Mr Trump, she said that Tuesday’s summit “sounds promising”.

She added: “Looks like everybody is looking at it in a good spirit. It’s going to be a historic time hopefully.”