# Donald Trump — "the Islamic Republic of Japan" > [!quote] "We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan." > — Donald Trump, press remarks at the NATO summit in Ankara, July 8, 2026 ## Context Speaking to reporters at the [[NATO Summit Ankara 2026]] as the U.S. resumed strikes on Iran, [[Donald Trump]] repeatedly referred to the Islamic Republic of **Iran** as the Islamic Republic of **Japan**. In the same appearance he gestured toward Ukrainian president [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] while inviting a question "for President Putin," called the JCPOA the "JCPOC," referred to TikTok as "Tic Tac," and described Turkey as a "great company" before correcting to "country." Multiple outlets described the appearance as incoherent. ## Why This Matters The gaffes fueled open questions about the president's cognitive fitness at a moment of live military escalation. Illinois governor [[J.B. Pritzker]] responded that Trump "is suffering from dementia," and economist [[Paul Krugman]] argued a functioning political system would have declared him non compos mentis. The remarks became a centerpiece of the July 8 letter by [[Heather Cox Richardson]]. ## See Also - [[NATO Summit Ankara 2026]] - [[Iran War 2026]] - [[J.B. Pritzker - Donald Trump is suffering from dementia]] - [[Paul Krugman - non compos mentis]]