President Donald Trump appeared to misspeak during remarks on July 8 when he referred to the “Islamic Republic of Japan” while describing what he said was a missile attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier. The comment came during a question-and-answer session alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Trump said, “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan. They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour.”
Trump almost certainly meant the Islamic Republic of Iran, not Japan. Japan is a constitutional monarchy and a longtime U.S. ally, while Iran’s official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Trump did not correct himself during the exchange. The surrounding context of his remarks focused on Iran, suggesting that the reference to Japan was likely a slip of the tongue rather than an intentional statement.
