President Donald Trump has sparked confusion after appearing to mix up Russia with Alaska during a White House press conference on crime in Washington, DC. Speaking alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and newly confirmed DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Trump announced plans to deploy the National Guard and place the city’s police under his control.
“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 [is].” However, Trump is not travelling to Russia but to Alaska to meet with the Russian president.
The much-anticipated summit is scheduled for Friday, August 15, 2025, in Alaska, as Trump announced on Truth Social. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between a US president and Vladimir Putin since 2021, and Putin’s first visit to the US in a decade.
Alaska’s senior Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski expressed cautious optimism, stating, “President Trump announced he will meet with President Putin in Alaska next Friday to continue negotiations to end Russia’s catastrophic war in Ukraine. This is another opportunity for the Arctic to serve as a venue that brings together world leaders to forge meaningful agreements.”
Critics noted that Russia once claimed Alaska in the 1770s before the US purchased it in 1867. Russian officials welcomed the choice of venue, with special economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev highlighting Alaska’s “Russian America” heritage, and sanctioned billionaire Konstantin Malofeyev saying Alaskans “respectfully remember their Russian past.”
Trump also expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over constitutional hurdles for negotiations. He hinted at “land-swapping” as part of potential talks, while continuing to deliver arms to Ukraine despite his earlier claims he could end the war within 24 hours.
