huffpost Press
Trump Refers To 'Islamic Republic Of Japan,' Calls Zelenskyy 'President Putin'
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday blundered his way through a briefing with reporters during a crunch summit of the NATO military alliance in Ankara, Turkey. While sitting alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president bragged about the U.S. military’s ability to resist attacks from Iran, specifically an assault on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” he said. Japan is a long-standing America ally. The two countries have been at peace since the end of World War II. Also during the briefing, Trump gestured to Zelenskyy and asked reporters: “Do you have a question for President Putin?” As the journalists corrected him, Trump went into clear-up mode. “Do you have a question for President Putin? Not Zelenskyy, Putin,” he said. “Because I’m going to ask him that question.” Trump gesturing to Zelenskyy: Do you have a question for President Putin? pic.twitter.com/mWMsGGsz29 The 80-year-old president has repeatedly faced questions about his mental and physical well-being during his second term. The gaffes came during a tense NATO summit as the fragile peace between the U.S and Iran was shattered. Earlier at the conference, the president said the interim U.S.-Iran deal was “over” as he called Iran’s leaders “scum” and “cuckoo.” He also warned that the U.S. would bomb Iran again on Wednesday night, telling reporters: “We hit them very hard last night. Very, very hard. Probably hit them hard again tonight.” On Ukraine, Trump was in a more favorable mood toward Zelenskyy than he has been in the past, agreeing to give America’s war-ravaged ally a production license to build their own Patriot missiles. The U.S-made Patriot system is seen as key to shooting down Russian ballistic projectiles. Trump said awarding the license was “pretty cool.” “This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving ’em enough,” he added. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.