Rambling Donald Trump mistakenly claims ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ fired missiles at US aircraft carrier

He claimed: “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan. They were shot at the aircraft carrier."

He then sat alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and asked the press, “You have a question for President Putin, please?”

The reporters present laughed, and some attempted to correct the US President, who worked to cover up his error by insisting it wasn’t what he meant.

He then pointed again to the Ukrainian leader and said: “Do you have a question for President Putin, not Zelenskyy, Putin?”

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“What would you like to ask him, because I’m going to ask him that question,” he added.

The moment was ignored by Zelenskyy, whose track record of diplomatic skirmishes with Trump is already marred enough without adding to it with a litany of others - especially considering Ukrainian reliance on US military aid.

This comes after high-profile stumbles by the President, including joking about Pearl Harbour during a meeting with the Japanese prime minister in March.

The same month, Trump claimed he had had conversations with pen company Sharpie for custom-made pens during a Cabinet meeting – conversations that a spokesperson for the brand says didn’t happen.

He also referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Strait of Trump” – before insisting it was deliberate, because “there are no mistakes with me”.

These mix-ups are proving increasingly concerning to the US electorate, 61% of which believes he has become more erratic with age, according to Reuters-IPSOS.

According to recent polling for the Washington Post, 56% of Americans do not believe he possesses the mental sharpness to respond to challenges.