‘Islamic Republic of Japan’: Trump’s verbal flubs are piling up
Trump’s Recent Verbal Missteps: A Collection of Notable Gaffes
Islamic Republic of Japan – President Donald Trump has frequently been quick to point out when other political figures stumble over their words. Back in 2022, he showcased a compilation of Joe Biden’s verbal missteps during a campaign rally. The former president later mocked Biden for confusing Trump with Kamala Harris during the 2024 election cycle, offering a cheerful “Great job, Joe!” to the crowd. Even earlier, in 2018, Trump participated in conservative circles’ ongoing joke about Barack Obama claiming to have visited 57 states. He shared his amusement on X, writing: “Can you imagine if I said that,” followed by “story of the year!”
Now, however, Trump himself has accumulated quite a collection of verbal stumbles. His most recent appearance at the NATO summit in Turkey highlighted this irony. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump committed three notable errors within a span of less than ten minutes. One of these involved referring to Iran as “the Islamic Republic of Japan,” a nation that does not exist.
Confusing Nations and Acronyms
During his remarks about a recent confrontation involving Iran, Trump stated:
“I told this story yesterday: We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” Trump said. “They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour.”
Trump has been vocal about his opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement from the Obama administration, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Yet at the same gathering, he mispronounced the acronym.
“They picked the wrong country, JCPOC,” Trump said. “What a terrible — what a terrible deal.”
Seated beside Zelensky, Trump turned to journalists and inquired whether anyone had “a question for President Putin.” This mirrors a similar moment when Biden made the same mistake during his NATO visit in 2024.
Mixing Up People and Places
Just two days before the summit, Trump appeared to conflate Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, with the pro-Trump musician Nicki Minaj.
“But Jeff is great,” Trump said, referring to Loeffler’s husband, Jeffrey Sprecher. “And he’s married to a person who’s doing a phenomenal job at the SBA, small business — Nicki Minaj who’s so incredible. They call it small business, Nicki.”
Later, during a June tour of the refurbished Air Force One aircraft, Trump mentioned Elon Musk but called him “Leon.”
“We have communication equipment up there that’s nobody’s ever seen before. It’s the highest level and, uh, including Starlink,” Trump said. “My friend Leon — my friend Elon is gonna be very happy.”
At an Indiana University football championship celebration in May, Trump searched for head coach Curt Cignetti, who stood directly beside him. He also confused Obama and Biden regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal, stating:
“They lost 13 people leaving an airport — Obama,” Trump said in May. “Thirteen very good people that I got to know their families.”
When questioned about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comments on potential Taiwan conflict, Trump answered as though discussing Iran:
“I don’t think there’s a conflict, other than we don’t need their — their strait.”
In April, Trump briefly declared Ukraine had lost its war, though he was actually referencing Iran using a familiar talking point.
“I think Ukraine, militarily they’re defeated, OK?” Trump said. “You wouldn’t know that by reading the fake news. But militarily, look, their Navy — so, they had 159 ships.”
During a Women’s History Month gathering, Trump seemed to mix up Kellyanne Conway with press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“And of course, Kellyanne Conway,” Trump said while introducing those assembled. “Has anyone ever heard of her? She’s fantastic. She’s in there fighting. She’s a — Kellyanne. A man, a friend of mine, said, you know, that Kellyanne, I admire the way she goes in and she screams at those people. She’s got us — meaning the media.”
Finally, at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, Trump repeatedly confused Greenland with Iceland.
“I’m helping Europe, I’m helping NATO, and until the last few days when I told them about Iceland, they loved me,” Trump said.
