Trump flubbed 3rd grade geography to the Indian prime minister

Narendra Modi and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Let this serve as yet another reminder President Trump likely skipped a few geography classes.

In this episode of "maybe just look at a map," Trump reportedly made a major flub involving two of the most powerful countries in the world. When speaking to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump reportedly told him "It's not like you’ve got China on your border," Washington Post journalists Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig report in their forthcoming book A Very Stable Genius.

As every modern map reveals, India does share a significant segment of its border with China. That's probably why "Modi's eyes bulged out in surprise" after Trump brushed off the two countries' connection, Rucker and Leonnig write. "Modi's expression gradually shifted, from shock and concern to resignation," the report continues, and one Trump aide later said Modi likely "left that meeting and said, 'This is not a serious man. I cannot count on this man as a partner.'" "The Indians took a step back" from their relationship with the U.S. after that comment, Rucker and Leonnig continue.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump has made several other geographical gaffes throughout his presidency, most of them out in the open, but most of them also not directed at the leaders of countries he seemingly knows nothing about.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.