The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Jun 18, 2020
Donald Trump isn't a man known for his geographical prowess but that hasn't stopped him from sharing his supposed knowledge of the world on more than one occasion.
This week it was revealed that Trump apparently thought Finland was a part of Russia, which... isn't an easy mistake to make.
And this isn't the first time he's miserably failed at geography.
Despite his many scandals, if history is anything to go by, Trump probably doesn't even know where Ukraine is. In fact, he doesn't seem to know where many countries are.
George Conway, the husband of Trump's counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, who is a rampant critic of the president has compiled a Twitter thread of all the countries and places that the POTUS has almost zero insight of.
So after his Finaland fail has surfaced, let's revisit 18 more times Trump showed next to no knowledge of other countries...
Belgium
Before he was president, back in June 2016, Trump said during a rally in Atlanta, Georgia that the country of Belgium is "a beautiful city."
Even Hillary Clinton mocked him for it.
France
Once again, before he was the president, Trump was claiming that Paris, the capital city of France, wasn't in France at all but was a city in Germany, when complaining about a shooting in a Paris police station.
Yet, as Conway pointed out it technically was a city in Germany during the 1940s so Trump probably needs to update whatever history books he has at home.
Namibia, Nepal, Bhutan and Japan
Now, we can't be too harsh on Trump for not knowing exactly where Namibia is as we doubt most people (unless they are from there or visited) would know but at least they aren't making up a different name for it.
Back in August 2018 Trump reportedly referred to Namibia as 'Nambia' which definitely isn't right.
To make matters worse, in a 2017 meeting with India's prime minister, he referred to Nepal as 'nipple' and Bhutan as 'button.'
Oh and also in 2017, when he was trying to liaise with the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, he reportedly tried to arrange a conversation at midday Washington time, which is actually in the middle of the night for Japan...
The Baltics
During a November 2018 White House meeting with the respective presidents of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, the three countries that comprise the Baltics, Trump got confused at called them 'the Balkans' instead.
The problem here is that the Balkans is a region in southeast Europe and not northeast Europe where the Baltics are.
Even more alarming is the fact that Melania Trump is from Slovenia, which is actually a country in the Balkans. We can only imagine what the conversation between the two of them was like after this slip-up.
Shockingly, he also accused the Baltics of starting the war which broke up the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The Baltic nations had nothing to do with this.
Mexico
Of all the countries in the world, you would think that Trump would know where Mexico was as he's practically obsessed with it.
During a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 2019, Trump said that "we're building a wall in Colorado," which is a US state a few hundred miles north of Mexico.
Trump would later say that this was a joke but we didn't hear anybody laughing.
Syria
This one is unforgivable as he had just ordered an airstrike on the war-torn nation of Syria.
When speaking to Fox Business about the missile strike in April 2017, Trump misspoke and confidently said he has send 59 missiles 'to Iraq' rather than the country he had just bombed.
For one, just have a little bit of respect, please.
North and South Korea
This one is actually ridiculous now that Trump has actually been to both Koreas and met both of their respective leaders.
Yet, back in March 2018 he still wasn't sure about the difference between the two after telling journalists at an annual dinner that he had recently spoken to North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un.
Turns out that it was actually from South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, which isn't embarrassing at all.
If that wasn't bad enough, Trump was said to be shocked after learning that South Korea's capital Seoul was only 15 miles away from the demilitarised zone and said the inhabitants of the city "have to move."
India
When speaking to Narenda Modi, the prime minister of India, he said "It’s not like you’ve got China on your border," in reference to China's ambitions in that area of Asia.
The problem is that India does have a border with China. A border that extends for around 2,500 miles.
Ireland
Not once but twice, Trump has gotten confused at the relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In 2018 he took exception to the mass protests that took place around the UK during his planned visit, claiming "I believe that the people in the UK – Scotland, Ireland, they like me a lot."
Trump could have been referring to Northern Ireland but he then went ahead and made the same mistake in 2019.
During a press conference at the end of the G7 summit in France, he bragged about the many properties he owns including a golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland adding "I love the UK."
Once again Donald, the United Kingdom and Ireland are different countries
Iraq
This is the complete opposite of his confusion with Syria.
When speaking to the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, just a few weeks ago in Davos, Trump spoke at length about Syria and why the US forces had decided to leave.
Apparently Trump thought that Barzani was Mazloum Abdo of the Syrian YPG and then told him "we're keeping the oil."
Ukraine
As we said earlier, Trump probably doesn't know where Ukraine is and this story practically proves that point.
In July 2019, Trump spoke to ambassador Gordon Sondland on the phone who told the president he was in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Trump didn't seem to understand this and had to clarify whether Sondland was actually in Ukraine or not.
United Kingdom
Not even dear old Blighty has been spurned Trump's ignorance.
In both 2018 and 2019 he failed to realise the distinction between the UK and England and has complained that the UK doesn't call itself England anymore.
He even told this to Boris Johnson, the prime minister of the UK. It's literally in the name Donald! Give us strength.
Still, it's not like we are trying to strike a lucrative deal with this guy or anything...