Trump Seemingly Calls Zelenskyy 'Putin' At Gaffe-Filled Press Conference

Source: Yahoo! News/Forbes

Updated Wed, July 8, 2026 at 1:57 PM EDT


Topline

President Donald Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin" Wednesday, then seemingly tried to cover up the gaffe, which was one of several during Wednesday's press conference alongside Zelenskyy at Thursday's NATO summit in Turkey.

Key Facts

Trump pointed to Zelenskyy and asked if reporters had any questions for "President Putin" before appearing to catch the error and insist he wanted to relay the inquiries when he spoke to the Russian president later in the day. Trump also referred to the "Islamic Republic of Iran" as the "Islamic Republic of Japan" when speaking about an attack by Iran on a U.S. aircraft carrier.

In the same press conference, he referred to the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as "JCPOC," calling it a "terrible deal." He also mispronounced the app "Tik Tok" as "tic tac," telling reporters, "You know who's number one on tic tac? I am. I'm number one on Tik Tok and all I talk about is how bad communism is."

He repeated the "tic tac" error—which he also made Monday from the White House while speaking about his following on the app—while delivering remarks at the NATO summit later in the day Wednesday. The gaffes come amid persistent questions about the president's health and mental state, as he often rambles in speeches, has seemingly dozed off in public on multiple occasions and has been seen with bruises on his hands and swollen ankles during his second term.



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