Donald Trump has been in the news ever since he received notable praise on October 9 for his role in negotiating a peace deal between Israel and Hamas. He flew to Israel on October 12 to support the release of hostages from Gaza. However, Trump made another geographical blunder while talking about Qatar’s role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on October 12, Trump praised Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling him an “amazing man” and commending his “tremendous” efforts in sealing the peace deal. He mentioned the country’s location as being in the centre of “unbelievably hostile” territory, suggesting it was vulnerable to negotiating any deal.
According to The Daily Beast, talking about the risks Qatar faced, Trump attempted to describe the country’s location as being in the centre of “unbelievably hostile” territory.
Trump to visit Israel on Monday for 4 hours, address Knesset, meet PM and hostage families
US president planning to make trip in wake of deal between Israel and Hamas to end Gaza war, likely to coincide with deadline for hostages’ releasehttps://t.co/xrxoWTgtHG— Marcy (@Marcy_2022) October 12, 2025
“They were very brave, and their leader, the Emir, was very brave,” Trump said. “His country is right in the middle of everything, more so than any other. You walk across a line and you’re there.”
He added, “Other countries are there, but they’re an hour or hour and a half away, big difference. You can literally walk over from Iran to Qatar. You go ‘boom boom’ and now you’re in Qatar. That’s tough territory.”
Interestingly, the 79-year-old’s comments were very incorrect. The two countries do not share a land border. The straight-line (air) distance between Iran and Qatar is reportedly around 510 miles. The driving distance is much more than that, and you simply can’t “walk over” in minutes.
A direct flight would take about two hours, as it would cross Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. His factual error received instant backlash on social media. Among the critics were The Washington Post’s national security reporter John Hudson and CBS’s political journalist Kathryn Watson, who called out his mistake via X(formerly Twitter).
Back in 2017, Donald Trump had accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism and claimed that their extreme ideologies in the context of geopolitics were “a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” However, in 2025, he seemed to have changed his opinion. ”
Trump; you literally just walked right into Qatar, Iran is right there you just take two steps and you’re right there in Qatar,
Trump is a goddamn idiot, Iran is 100 miles away across water, what does this guy smoke because man the delusions are top notch ✅ https://t.co/avGHZyGjwx— I am abnormal and I like others who are abnormal (@shockingguy) October 12, 2025
“In 2017, I didn’t really know them very well,” Trump explained on Sunday. “That was right at the start of my term,” he added as he was asked about it. Meanwhile, these remarks about Qatar come after Donald Trump made a memorable trip to the Middle East in May 2025, making stops in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
Reports then suggested that Trump was flying high on Qatari generosity during the trip, as he was reportedly willing to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar, which is potentially ready to be converted into a presidential aircraft.
Meanwhile, Trump was keen to receive the Nobel Prize 2025. He claimed to have ended seven wars since the beginning of his second term. Still, alas, he was snubbed by the committee as the prizes were announced on October 10 by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway. It was instead awarded to María Corina Machado of Venezuela.
Mentioning his repeated obsession with the prize, Trump also added, “There are people who say you could make an exception because a lot of great things happened in 2025 that are already done. But I didn’t do this for a Nobel. I did it to save lives,” he added.
The POTUS is scheduled to address Israel’s Knesset in Jerusalem and participate in a “Gaza Peace Summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, as part of his trip. Stay tuned for further updates!
