Donald Trump’s cognitive health is once again under scrutiny after a series of jaw-dropping gaffes on the world stage.
During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump repeatedly referred to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin”; mixed up the Islamic Republic of Iran with the “Islamic Republic of Japan”; and confused the name of Obama’s “JCPOA” nuclear deal with another acronym, the “JCPOC.”
The 80-year-old even bragged about his popularity on a social media app that doesn’t quite exist.
“Do you know who’s number one on Tic Tac? I am,” he said before correcting himself.
“I’m number one on TikTok—and all I talk about is how bad communism is.”
The gaffes were reminiscent of the kind of flubs Trump previously used to highlight his predecessor Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.
However, Trump, who is now the oldest president to ever occupy the Oval Office, repeatedly insists he is in great shape, and often brags about “acing” cognitive tests, not realizing that they are in fact screening tests for dementia.
The president’s latest medical report from his White House physician also says he remains in “excellent health” and is fully fit to carry out his duties as Commander-in-Chief.
But political observers are not convinced—and Wednesday’s blunders did not help.
The president was speaking on the second day of the NATO summit in Turkey, which began with Trump restating his “need” to control Greenland. He also slammed European allies as “hopeless” and threatened countries that did not support his war in Iran, which escalated overnight.
But things took an eyebrow-raising turn during Trump’s bilateral meeting with Zelensky, when he told reporters about the latest strikes on Iran.
“We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” he said.
At several points in the meeting, Trump also referred to Zelensky by the name of his greatest enemy.
“Do you have a question for President Putin, please,” he asked reporters, pointing to the Ukrainian leader.
Then, in another wild scene, Trump began fielding questions for the Russian president, telling the press: “Give us a question—not for Zelensky, give us a question for Putin.”
“When will he end this war?” a reporter asked Trump, as Zelensky watched on.
“That’s a good question,” Trump said. “I don’t think I’ve ever answered that question... He’s going to tell you he wants it ended.”
The meeting came with welcome news for the NATO alliance, with the president announcing he would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to protect itself from Russian missiles.
But in taking questions from reporters, Trump also referred to Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran - otherwise known as the “JCPOA” - as the “JCPOC”.
And he occasionally struggled to hear questions, requiring Secretary of State Marco Rubio to step in.
“As part of security guarantees, are you ready to close the skies in case Russia attacks again?” a reporter asked Trump.
“Close what?” he replied.
“Close the skies over Ukraine,” the reporter repeated.
Rubio interjected: “Close the skies,” he said.
The jaw-dropping press conference left observers once again questioning Trump’s cognitive health - and the hypocrisy of Republicans.
“More than a decade later, I still see some people attacking Obama for accidentally saying 57 instead of 47 one time,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.
“They made political capital out of every Biden stumble just handed critics a clip they’ll be talking about for a long time,” mused another social media observer.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a Ukraine Compact meeting, as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stands next to him.
Yves HermanBiden also accidentally referred to Zelensky at a NATO summit two years ago, introducing him with: “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”
He quickly corrected himself, and Zelensky took it with good humor, declaring: “I’m better” - but that didn’t stop Republicans from attacking the then president for the blunder.
Asked about the president’s health, White House spokesman Davis Ingle, 32, said in a statement: “The Daily Beast is [a] mentally challenged, lightweight operation. Hopefully the idiots who work there will eventually be able to get themselves a real job.”
