Kathrine Frich
The remark prompted laughter from members of the press
US President Donald Trump made two notable verbal mistakes while speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit, creating an awkward moment during a press conference without interrupting discussions on regional security.
The remarks came as Trump addressed recent military tensions involving Iran and the United States, before making another apparent mix-up while taking questions from reporters.
Unexpected mistake
According to the Daily Mirror, Trump mistakenly referred to Iran as the “Islamic Republic of Japan” while discussing missile attacks against the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.
“We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.”
“They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour. 111 missiles going to a very expensive ship, and every one of those missiles was knocked down, pretty much most by patriots, but by other means also,” he said.
The comments appeared to reference hostilities involving Iran, which has exchanged strikes with US forces following the escalation of conflict in the region.
Second mix-up
Shortly afterward, Trump appeared to mistakenly invite reporters to ask “President Putin” a question despite standing next to Zelensky.
The remark prompted laughter from members of the press before Trump corrected himself and continued the briefing.
The incident echoed a widely reported moment involving former President Joe Biden, who also mistakenly referred to Zelensky as “President Putin” during a NATO event.
Growing tensions
The appearance came hours after Trump declared that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran had ended. According to the Daily Mirror, he also described Iranian leaders as “scum” and warned the US would “probably hit Iran hard again tonight.”
The US military said it had carried out strikes against more than 60 vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The developments unsettled financial markets, with oil prices rising sharply while major US stock indexes declined following Trump’s remarks.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
