Donald Trump and the Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, are now best buds. After all, if someone gifts you a $400 million “flying palace” jumbo jet for your own personal use, they must be a great guy to hang around with!
Qatar is now firmly pressed to the United States’ protective bosom. Trump was reportedly furious at Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu for conducting an airstrike in the country, especially after being personally treated to a lavish dinner in Doha during his last visit to the Middle East.
As a measure of how highly the Trump administration thinks of the autocratic Islamic state, look no further than Pete Hegseth confirming that a Qatari Air Force facility will be constructed in Idaho – the first foreign military facility ever within the continental United States. That’s an impressive achievement considering that Qatar has given around $1.8 billion in funding to Hamas over the last decade!
As for Qatar’s end of the bargain, they provide the U.S. with a military presence in the region, primarily in Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, which serves as a critical hub for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operations.
But Trump seems to think Qatar serves another purpose – giving direct access to Iranian territory. In eyebrow-raising comments aboard Air Force One, Trump seemed to be completely ignorant of not only where Qatar is, but where Iran is, too:
Trump: "Literally, you walk over from Iran to Qatar. You can walk it in one second. You go, boom, boom, and now you're in Qatar."
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) October 12, 2025
Qatar and Iran do not share a land border. pic.twitter.com/XVvvoKJpQa
“Literally, you walk over from Iran to Qatar. You can walk it in one second. You go, boom, boom, and now you’re in Qatar. That’s tough territory! I think Qatar are amazing!”
Looks like someone failed geography. Qatar is a peninsula in the Persian Gulf and the only country it shares a land border with is Saudi Arabia. It does share a maritime border with Iran, which sits across the Persian Gulf, though even that (at its narrowest point) is still 119 miles away.
Stultifyingly ill-informed
Trump seems to be geographically confusing Iran with Saudi Arabia, which is a little worrying given he’s the one approving military action in the area. But hey, at this point, discovering that Trump is ignorant about geography is just one more thing to toss on the “oh, he’s dumb dumb” pile.
I mean, just recently we saw him apparently believe that “Habeas Corpus” is someone’s name rather than a legal concept. Then again, if Trump does ever decide to take on Iran, we can imagine much confusion in the Pentagon as Trump orders Hegseth to ensure his troops are stationed along the edge of the Iran-Qatar border!
