Donald Trump may be president, but that doesn’t mean you want him as the navigator on a road trip.
That’s because the president made a claim about the Middle East on Sunday not supported by any map ― and one that would get him a failing grade on a geography test.
While talking with journalists on Air Force One, Trump praised Qatar for its role in the ceasefire and credited the “tremendous” help of the country’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in mediating the peace deal.
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Trump could have left it there, but he went on to make an embarrassing gaffe.
“They were very brave and their leader, the emir, was very brave,” Trump said. “His country is right in the middle of everything. More so than any other country. His country, you walk across a line, and you’re there.”
“Other countries are there, but they’re an hour or an hour and a half away, a big difference. They’re literally, you walk over from Iran to Qatar. You can walk it in one second. You go ‘boom boom,’ and now you’re in Qatar, that’s tough territory.”
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The thing is, if one merely looks at a map of the Middle East, Qatar and Iran do not share a land border. They are separated by the Persian Gulf, so they do share a maritime boundary, but there’s no way one could be standing in Qatar and then, “boom boom,” be in Iran — unless they can walk on water with the speed of The Flash.
Encyclopaedia Britannica via Getty Images
It didn’t take long for people on X to clock Trump’s flub on Sunday.
“One of those odd moments where Trump offers highly specific & totally inaccurate info about something no one asked him about,” tweeted John Hudson of The Washington Post, along with a map.
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CBS politics reporter Kathryn Watson also pointed out the mistake by also providing a map. This prompted other critics on X to share their two cents.
— — • C H E E K Y • — (@andreagail_k) October 12, 2025
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If you take a gold plane, it might be faster. pic.twitter.com/fjLWCEDatO— — • C H E E K Y • — (@andreagail_k) October 12, 2025nnn","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":896,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G3GKXYlbsAAAgsB.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1356,"title":"— • C H E E K Y • — on Twitter / 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Because you’d likely step on a land mine and have bits & pieces of you blown 500 miles away.
Also, you’d have to swim most of the distance. If you take a gold plane, it might be faster. pic.twitter.com/fjLWCEDatO
— — • C H E E K Y • — (@andreagail_k) October 12, 2025
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Pretty sure the Persian Gulf is in between 😝
— Michelle 🇺🇸🦅 (@Michell71078349) October 12, 2025
— HubCityOldMan(Marc Girard) (@coachG61) October 12, 2025
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He could walk 600 miles and he could walk 500 more, just to be the man who walked 1100 miles from Iran to Qatar! 😆😆😆😆🤦🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/MA79acJLWU
— HubCityOldMan(Marc Girard) (@coachG61) October 12, 2025
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Earlier this month, Trump claimed that he brokered a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Albania, when it was really with Azerbaijan and Armenia, Politico reported.
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During a 2018 rally, Trump appeared not to know the difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England.
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