'I'm going to Russia on Friday': Did Trump confuse Russia with Alaska ahead of Putin meeting? | WATCH

US President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putrin - File Photo

Ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump appears to have confused Alaska with Russia during a press conference where he discussed rising crime in Washington, DC, and outlined his plans to deploy the National Guard and take control of the city’s police force.

“This is a tragic emergency, and it's embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump told reporters. “You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was.”

Trump: "I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday."

Trump is going to Alaska on Friday — which has not been part of Russia since 1867. pic.twitter.com/3tx74GzhVt — The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 11, 2025

Trump is set to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss bringing an end to the war in Ukraine that Russia initiated when it struck Ukraine in February of 2022.

The US President said he expected to have a "constructive conversation" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at their upcoming Alaska summit.

"I'm going to speak to Vladimir Putin and I'm going to be telling him 'you've got to end this war,'" Trump said at a White House press conference.

Trump also said he is unhappy with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for ruling out territorial concessions to Russia.

Last week, Trump announced on Truth Social: “The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska.”

This upcoming meeting will mark the first face-to-face encounter between a US president and Vladimir Putin since 2021, when Joe Biden met the Russian leader in Switzerland. The summit is notable given that Putin currently faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.