"Going To Russia": Trump Roasted By Internet For Viral Alaska Gaffe

US President Donald Trump is set to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska later this week to gauge Moscow's plans for ending the war in Ukraine. During a media interaction at the White House, Trump pointed out that the crime situation in the US capital, Washington DC, was embarrassing, especially with Putin coming to the country. 

But while expressing his frustration, the American leader appeared to mix up Russia with Alaska, drawing social media users' attention, who were quick to question his mental acuity.

"This is a tragic emergency, and it's embarrassing for me to be up here...You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here [on the podium], talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital [is]," Trump told reporters at the press briefing room.

Trump says crime situation in DC is embarrassing, especially with Putin coming. "This is a tragic emergency, and it's embarrassing for me to be up here, you know, I'm going to see Putin. ... I don't like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this… pic.twitter.com/XKnNf89ow1

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) August 11, 2025

Trump is not going to Russia, but rather to Alaska to meet with Putin. US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, among other senior officials, were present on the podium with Trump, but none of them seemed to have corrected him.

The President went on to describe the upcoming summit as a "feel-out meeting" as he played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska. The leader, usually fond of boasting about his deal-making skills, said he expected "constructive conversations" with Putin.

The US president has spent the first months of his second term in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine -- after boasting he could end the conflict in 24 hours -- but multiple rounds of talks, phone calls and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough.

"I may say -- lots of luck, keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal," he said.

Trump, usually fond of boasting of his deal-making skills, played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska but said he expected "constructive conversations" with Putin.

Social Media Reactions

Trump's gaffe was soon picked up by social media users, with some questioning the Republican's mental acuity.

"According to Trump, Alaska is in Russia. His dementia and cognitive decline are on full display," wrote a social media user on X. 

According to #Trump, Alaska is in Russia.

His dementia and cognitive decline are on full display!#Putin #Epstein #EpsteinTrumpFiles https://t.co/PKDnH7bUZZ

— Politics Village (#StillWithHer #KHive #TeamJoe) (@PoliticsVillage) August 11, 2025

Another X user wrote, "With his DEMENTIA on full display, Trump announces HE'S GOING TO Russia! Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth are so accustomed to him LYING, THEY DON'T EVEN BLINK! THAT'S how he gets away with LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE."

with his DEMENTIA
on full display,#trump announces
HE'S GOING TO #Russia!@PamBondi @PeteHegseth
are so accustomed to him LYING,
THEY DON'T EVEN BLINK!

THAT'S how he gets away with
LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!

that
&
a WhiteHouse Press Corps
who REFUSE to do THEIR JOB! pic.twitter.com/BhSXHqPOBT

— Valerie Martin 🍿🤓🍿 (@WILLDYE4U) August 11, 2025

One X user commented, "The so-called president of the United States thinks that Alaska is in Russia. What an ongoing embarrassment!" 

Alaska's Russian Past

Alaska was once a Russian territory. The US bought it from the USSR more than 150 years ago. The Russian influence still endures in parts of the remote state on the northwest edge of the North American continent, which extends just a few miles from Russia.

The territory was discovered when Danish explorer Vitus Bering first sailed through the narrow strait that separates Asia and the Americas in 1728 during an expedition for Tsarist Russia. The discovery of what is now known as the Bering Strait revealed the existence of Alaska to the West. However, Indigenous people had been living there for thousands of years.

Bering's expedition kicked off a century of Russian seal hunting, with the first colony set up on the southern Kodiak Island. In 1799, Tsar Paul I established the Russian-American Company to take advantage of the lucrative fur trade, which often involved clashes with the Indigenous inhabitants.

However, the hunters overexploited the seals and sea otters, whose populations collapsed, taking with them the settlers' economy.

The Russian Empire sold the territory to Washington for $7.2 million in 1867. The purchase of an area more than twice the size of Texas was widely criticised in the US at the time, even dubbed "Seward's folly" after the deal's mastermind, Secretary of State William Seward.