President Donald Trump asked Monday that Japanese automakers consider making vehicles in the U.S., apparently unaware they've been doing that for more than 30 years.

“Try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. That’s not too much to ask,” Trump urged during an appearance before Japanese business executives. "Is it rude to ask?"

It's not so much rude as breathtakingly oblivious to a central reality that has transformed, for the better, the nations's auto industry over the past three decades.