Trump Appears to Mistake Zelensky for Putin — Then Scrambles to Cover It in Bizarre Moment

President Donald Trump appeared to confuse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin — and then spoke in circles trying to cover the gaffe — in a bonkers moment during a presser from the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday.

Trump, taking questions from reporters in Ankara while flanked by Zelensky, gestured toward the Ukraine leader at one point and asked reporters, “You have a question for President Putin, please?”

After some snickering among the journalists, Trump oddly tried to defend his mistake by acting like he hadn’t made one at all.

“Do you have a question for President Putin — not Zelensky — Putin,” Trump said while pointing. “What would you like to ask him? Because I’m gonna ask him that question.”

When the reporter asked about how Trump had called Putin a “paper tiger” last year, Trump returned to his request.

“No no, give us a question, not for Zelensky, give us a question for Putin. ‘Cause I’m speaking to him today. Give me a good, hard question.”

A reporter then asked, “When will he end this war?”

Trump replied, “That’s a good question. I don’t think I’ve ever asked him that question. I’m gonna ask him that question.”

He added: “By the way, I will tell you though, he’s gonna to tell you, he wants it ended as soon as he can end it. He wants to end it soon. I talk to him a lot. I talk to [Zelensky] a little less, but the relationship is very good. But I talk to President Putin a lot. He wants to end the war. A lot of people don’t believe that.”

It was just one gaffe of several during the presser. Earlier, Trump appeared to confuse Iran with Japan, telling reporters that the “Islamic Republic of Japan” had fired more than 100 missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier as he touted the effectiveness of Patriot missile defense systems.

Watch above via Fox News.

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