Trump Claims ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ Shot at US Aircraft Carrier in Jaw-Dropping Gaffe at NATO Summit

President Donald Trump appeared to confuse Iran with Japan during a jaw-dropping verbal slip at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, 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.

Sat alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump was responding to a question about whether he would allow Europe to manufacture Patriot interceptors under license for Ukraine when he launched into an anecdote about an Iranian missile barrage.

“And you’re talking with respect to Ukraine. Well we’re going to talk about that. You know, look, it’s a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon,” Trump said before describing the capabilities of the system.

“So I was saying we have an aircraft carrier, which is one of the most beautiful in the world. It’s one of the biggest, the [USS] Abraham Lincoln. And a few months ago, I told this story yesterday. We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” he claimed. “They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour, 111 missiles going to a very expensive ship.”

Trump appeared to be referring to attacks by Iran, which he has repeatedly cited in recent weeks while discussing U.S. military operations and the performance of American missile defenses.

He continued: “And every one of those missiles was knocked down. Pretty much most by Patriots, but by other means also.”

The president used the story to argue for the value of Patriot systems, calling them “the best” defensive weapon and praising U.S. defense manufacturers.

Trump closed the exchange by returning to his administration’s recent military actions, declaring: “You see that with Venezuela. You see it with Iran. Look, Iran has been wiped out. Iran Navy’s gone. Their air force is gone. Everything’s gone.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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