Trump, 79, Struggles to Read Names of Multiple World Leaders

The inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace took place Thursday morning in Washington, convening leaders from two dozen countries in order to oversee the Gaza Peace Plan. But Trump, who spoke at the top of the assembly, very obviously had a difficult time pronouncing his peers’ foreign names.

“President Mirsu-oyev of Uzbekistan who is—where?” Trump said, referring to Shavkat Mirziyoyev. “There he is. A friend of mine, he’s got one of the most difficult names in history, but that’s okay, doesn’t matter.”

Trump tried to avoid other names, such as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whom Trump appeared to nearly refer to as a dictator.

“Say hello to the d—general/president,” Trump said as he pointed at Sisi, according to AFP reporter Shaun Tandon.

The “leader of the free world” also bungled naming the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, whom he couldn’t seem to remember while boasting about ending their 30-year conflict.

“It was a great thing you did, you and your new friend,” Trump said in a wordy story that haphazardly avoided pronouncing the names of Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. “These are two tough cookies.”

Trump: "President ... Mirssssssurooyev of Uzbekistan. One of the most difficult names in history." pic.twitter.com/Q74QWb9SOj

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 19, 2026

Trump initially floated his “Board of Peace” idea back in September as part of a 20-point peace plan to control Gaza, promising to include major heads of state as well as former world leaders, such as former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But the board’s charter makes little mention of Gaza. Instead, its goals appear to be as lofty as they are broad, seeking to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

The concept came under new scrutiny in January in light of Trump’s escalating aggression toward Greenland and NATO. Trump has also invited leaders of nations with terrible track records on human rights, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, to join the board.

Longtime U.S. allies warned that the “Board of Peace” could upend world order, with several refusing to join the board at all, including France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Slovenia.