Trump makes huge blunder as he announces he's going to Russia to meet Putin

By Alice Scarsi, World News Editor, John Varga, World News Reporter

Donald Trump wrongly said he'll meet Vladimir Putin in Russia on Friday (Image: Getty)

Donald Trump was caught in a major blunder as he held a press conference on Monday. The US President was discussing homelessness in Washington DC flanked by his Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth when he spoke about his upcoming, high-profile meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

However, he soon digressed into talking about his forthcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin, scheduled to take place on Friday in Alaska. "It's embarrassing for me to be up here," he told reporters. "I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday." The remarks provoked a social media meltdown, with many unable to resist poking fun at the US President over his huge gaffe.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met once before in Helsinki (Image: Getty)

One wrote: "The so-called president of the United States thinks that Alaska is in Russia. What an ongoing embarrassment!" While another said: "Is Trump stupider than Sarah Palin? Da. Is Alaska part of Russia? Nyet."

A third fumed: "Completely effing gone. Can you imagine a Fortune 500 chairman talking like this and not being relieved before he fell off the podium?" And a fourth noted: "This is what dementia looks like.."

Alaska was once part of Imperial Russia, but was later sold to the US for the princely sum of US$7.2 million on March 30, 1867.

Trump plans to try and persuade the Russian President to sign up to a peace deal and has hinted that Ukraine may need to give up some of its territory.

Ukraine's's President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly rejected the idea of a land concession in no uncertain terms in a post to his X socail media account.

He wrote: "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier. Ukraine is ready for real solutions that can bring peace.

"Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are simultaneously decisions against peace."

Trump described his upcoming summit with Putin as a "feel-out meeting" and said he would tell the Russian leader "to end the war". But he said he won't be making a deal between Russia and Ukraine, adding "it's not up to me".

"I got a call to say they'd like to meet, and I'm going to see what they want to meet about," he explained.

"I'd like to see a ceasefire, I'd like to see the best deal that could be made for both parties, it takes two to tango."

During the press conference, Trump also announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi would oversee a takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington and said 800 National Guard troops would be assigned to the nation’s capital.

He painted a picture of rampant and runway crime, as he sought to justify the new measures.

“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people,” he said.