Trump wanted to phone Japan's prime minister in the middle of the night and mispronounced Nepal as 'NIPPLE' diplomatic sources claim

  • Trump's unfamiliarity with world affairs led him to mispronounce one Asian country's name and try to make a late-night call to the prime minister of another 
  • Stories include a time when Trump referred to Nepal as 'nipple' and 'Bhutan as 'button' and joked about setting up the India prime minster
  • Aides also had to explain that it would be inappropriate to call Shinzo Abe, whose name the president routinely mispronounces, while he was sleeping

President Trump's unfamiliarity with world affairs led him to mispronounce one Asian country's name and try to make a late-night call to the prime minister of another.

At least that's what diplomatic sources told Politico of Trump's steep learning curve his first year in office, revealing embarrassing instances when the sitting President of the United States fell short of the expectations of someone in his office.

The stories include a time when Trump referred to Nepal as 'nipple' and 'Bhutan as 'button.' 

'He didn’t know what those were. He thought it was all part of India,' a source told Politico. 'He was like, "What is this stuff in between and these other countries?" '

President Trump's unfamiliarity with world affairs led him to mispronounce one Asian country's name and try to make a late-night call to the prime minister of another

President Trump's unfamiliarity with world affairs led him to mispronounce one Asian country's name and try to make a late-night call to the prime minister of another

At the same meeting he's said to have joked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's estrangement from his wife, saying to aides, 'Ah, I think I can set him up with somebody.'

He is also said to have tried to put in a call to Tokyo in the middle of the night there when he wanted to speak to the prime minister of Japan. 

Politico says that aides to the president had to explain that it would be inappropriate to call Shinzo Abe, whose name the president routinely mispronounces in public, while he was sleeping.

The anecdote seems more unlikely than some of the past claims about the political novice president. After all, Trump is a billionaire who, until he won the presidency, oversaw a massive, international real estate venture.  

But a White House official seemed to suggest to Politico that it was accurate.

'He’s the president of the United States. He’s not stopping to add up,' the person said. 'I don’t think anybody would expect him or Obama or Bush or Clinton or anybody to do that. That’s the whole reason you have a staff to say "Yes, we’ll set it up," and then they find a time that makes most sense.'

Aides had to explain that it would be inappropriate to call Shinzo Abe, the Japanese PM, while he was sleeping

Aides had to explain that it would be inappropriate to call Shinzo Abe, the Japanese PM, while he was sleeping

A former National Security Council official told Politico, 'He wasn’t great with recognizing that the leader of a country might be 80 or 85 years old and isn’t going to be awake or in the right place at 10:30 or 11 p.m. their time.'

Likewise, a person who is close to Trump suggested that the former businessman calls on people at inopportune times because he's inconsiderate.

'When he wants to call someone, he wants to call someone. He’s more impulsive that way. He doesn’t think about what time it is or who it is,' the person said. 

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders did not deny the claims in a statement to Politico. 

'The president has developed strong relationships and good rapports that are not only friendly, but also allow for candid conversations with many of America’s closest allies,' she said. 'Foreign leaders appreciate that the President is willing to take their calls day and night.'

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