Trump confuses Iran with 'Islamic Republic of Japan', calls Zelensky 'Putin' at NATO summit

A cascade of verbal missteps

During a press conference closing the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Donald Trump made a series of factual errors that drew immediate attention. Asked about missile defence, he stated that "111 missiles were fired by the Islamic Republic of Japan" at the USS Abraham Lincoln, confusing Iran with Japan. Moments earlier, while standing next to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump turned to the audience and asked, "Does anyone have a question for Putin?" He corrected himself after journalists reacted, but the slip echoed a previous incident. The president also referred to the social media platform TikTok as "TicTac," the name of a mint brand.

We have two kids in the park and they don't like each other and start fighting. Sometimes you have to let them fight. Let them see it's tough. Fighting is tough.

The summit's political rollercoaster

Trump's appearance in Ankara was marked by sharp swings in tone. He opened the gathering with threats: warning Denmark of annexation of Greenland, telling European allies he could withdraw all US troops, and vowing to close trade with Spain. He expressed disappointment that the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France had not assisted in the conflict with Iran. Yet by the closing press conference, held in the capital's vast library, he described an "incredible" feeling of "love" in the room, saying leaders had "a lot of kindness in their hearts, not malice."

The life of a President is very dangerous.

Behind him stood Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had called the summit "historic," and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who had planned to announce a major reduction of US forces in Europe. Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro, speaking for the alliance, declared the meeting had ended under the sign of "unity."

White House response

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded to questions from Forbes about the errors by describing the president's performance as a "marathon" at the summit, noting he had held multiple press conferences. The administration did not directly address the specific misstatements.

The president had a marathon performance at the summit, holding several press conferences.

Context and reaction

Japanese news agency Kyodo was the first to report the "Islamic Republic of Japan" remark. Japanese media outlets noted that the country has no official religion and that Islam is among the smallest faith communities there. The gaffes added to a pattern of verbal slips by the 80-year-old president, who turned 80 in June.

Summit outcomes

Despite the erratic messaging, the 32 NATO members issued a final declaration identifying Russia as the alliance's most significant strategic threat. The meeting, hosted by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at his sprawling presidential complex, concluded with a public show of unity, though Trump's contradictory statements left allies unsettled.