US President Donald Trump seems to imply that England, the UK, and Great Britain are just different names for the same country, as a recent incident at the G7 summit has highlighted.
In response to a question about his meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7 summit, and whether the US would value its alliance with the UK or the EU more once Brexit has become a reality, Donald Trump said:
“We have been with, I guess you would start off by saying 'England', right? I asked Boris, 'Where’s England? What’s happening with England?' They don’t use it too much anymore. We talked about it. It was very interesting".
Social media pounced on the US president’s geography lapse, with many tweeting that most Americans would have made the same mistake:
Some users even waded into the technicalities of the name differences:
Others typically just revelled in the humour of it all:
This is not the first time Trump has suggested he sees no difference between England and the UK. If his own statements are anything to go by, England, the UK, and Great Britain are just interchangeable names for him.
In August 2018, Trump told a rally crowd in Pennsylvania:
“I have great respect for the U.K., United Kingdom. Great respect. People call it Britain. They call it Great Britain. They used to call it England, different parts”.
England is one of four countries within the United Kingdom (with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and not just another word for the UK.