Donald Trump is once again facing questions about his memory after a strange post on Truth Social.
The 79-year-old president mentioned the Russian city of Leningrad on Tuesday morning, even though it has not been called that for more than 30 years.
“If I got Moscow and Leningrad free, as part of the deal with Russia, the Fake News would say that I made a bad deal!” Trump wrote. He was complaining about how the media is covering his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Leningrad changed its name back to St. Petersburg in 1991 after a public vote. The Cold War was over, and the Soviet Union had collapsed. Critics quickly reminded Trump of this fact.
Many people online said the mistake could be a sign of dementia.
Dementia? pic.twitter.com/8sOMP9hwNh
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) August 13, 2025
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Some also remembered that in the late 1980s, Trump was trying to do business in Russia. In 1987, Trump and his wife Ivana traveled to Moscow to look at sites for a possible Trump Hotel. They also went to Leningrad, four years before the name change.
“Trump mentioning Leningrad is wild, considering the city hasn’t existed since 1991,” one person wrote. “He’s long gone at this point.”
Trump mentioning Leningrad is wild, considering the city hasn’t existed since 1991.
He’s long gone at this point. pic.twitter.com/SYisBYdesj
— Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) August 13, 2025
Trump never built the hotel, but he kept trying to work with Russian developers. In 2013, he even let the Miss Universe pageant be held in Moscow.
Michael McDonald, a political scientist, posted: “To be clear, Trump means getting a free Trump hotel in Moscow and St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).”
To be clear, Trump means getting a free Trump hotel in Moscow and St.Petersburg (formerly Leningrad)
— Michael McDonald (@electproject.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T12:38:46.636Z
The mistake comes just two days before Trump will meet with Putin in Alaska to talk about Ukraine’s future. It is a high-stakes summit where the president will need to show focus and clarity.
On Wednesday, author Michael Wolff told The Daily Beast’s “Inside Trump’s Head” podcast about Trump’s private meeting with Putin in 2018. Wolff said that after the meeting, Trump looked “like a beaten dog.”
The Leningrad slip is not Trump’s only recent blunder. In July, he attacked Joe Biden for choosing Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, forgetting that he himself appointed Powell in 2017.
The day before that, Trump told a story about his uncle, an MIT professor, teaching Ted Kaczynski before he became the “Unabomber.” Kaczynski never went to MIT.
This week, Trump also confused his travel plans. On Monday, he twice said he would be going to Russia on Friday. In reality, the meeting with Putin will take place in Alaska.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt later tried to explain his words. “Perhaps there are plans in the future to travel to Russia,” she said.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
