U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press about deploying federal law enforcement agents in Washington to bolster the local police presence, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington D.C., U.S., August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

During his nearly 90-minute Monday morning press conference declaring an “emergency” and announcing that he is federalizing the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police force despite crime being at a 30-year low, President Donald Trump appeared to confuse the U.S. state of Alaska with Russia—twice—leading critics to again express concerns.

“This is a tragic emergency,” Trump told reporters packed into the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. “And it’s embarrassing for me to be up here.”

“You know, I’m going to see Putin, I’m going to Russia on Friday,” Trump said, stressing “Putin” and “Russia.”

“I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital was. With graffiti all over the walls,” he complained.

But the President’s remark about going to “Russia” was incorrect. The meeting on Friday with the Russian President is scheduled to be in Alaska, not Russia.

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The United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867.

“The reason Putin wants to meet in Alaska is because he wants it back,” noted The Washington Spectator’s Dave Troy, a historian and researcher who has written extensively about Russia, on Saturday. “He thinks because it’s former Russian territory he’s psyop-ing and dominating Trump.”

Critics, some of whom described the event as “rambling,” blasted the President.

“Trump is going to Alaska on Friday, which the Kremlin has been demanding back recently. Maybe that’s the ‘territorial concession’ Trump keeps ranting about,” observed political commentator and Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky.

“He’s going to Russia? This doddering old man has no idea where he is or what he’s talking about,” snarked U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell.

“Looking forward to all the articles about Trump’s cognitive decline,” wrote the political commentary account Blue Georgia.

“Since there are so many reporters in the briefing room listening to Trump ramble and rant and gaffe and dissemble, I assume there are going to be tons of stories about how mentally compromised the United States President is,” remarked The Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell.

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“Russia has a tremendous advantage with its ‘Alaska is ours!’ operation it did not have with its ‘Crimea is ours!’ operation. In 2014, the Ukrainian government was unsteady but loyal to Ukraine. In 2025, the U.S. government is chaotic and headed by Trump who is loyal to Putin,” noted political scholar Dr. Michael MacKay.

“Russian and Ukrainian social media are lighting up with Trump’s revealing announcement: ‘I’m going to Russia on Friday to meet with Putin.’ They know Alaska is Russian America to Moscow imperialists. The Putin regime is looking good to win another stunning victory over the USA,” MacKay added.

“Trump announced, “I’m going to Russia” on Friday. This is a major foreign policy statement. Flanked by Hegseth & Bondi, who barely flinched, Trump declared an enormous diplomatic change. But it’s wrong. He’s going to Alaska. It’s not part of Russia (yet),” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Laurie Garrett. “Hope Sen. Lisa Murkowski is paying attention.”

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