US President Donald Trump said that he talked to the “incredible president” of the US Virgin Islands, giving rise to online discussions on whether Trump could use a geography lesson, or if there are actually two Trumps secretly present in the White House.
“I will tell you I left Texas and I left Florida and I left Louisiana and I went to Puerto Rico and I met with the President of the Virgin Islands,” Trump said during the Values Voter Summit in Washington as he promised government support for areas hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
“The Virgin Islands and the President of the Virgin Islands, these are people that are incredible people, they suffered gravely and… we’re going to be there… it is not even a question of a choice,” he said.
The Virgin Islands are a US territory headed by Governor Kenneth Mapp, with their president technically being Donald Trump.
The apparent slip of the tongue was noticed by CNN, which said that the White House didn’t immediately respond to its request for comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, Trump’s reference to Mapp as the president in the official White House transcript of the Values Voter Summit speech was corrected to “governor.”
Trump’s numerous online critics were not impressed with the idea of the president talking to himself, with some recalling other recent slips of the tongue, including a reference to the nonexistent land of ‘Nambia’ instead of Namibia.
However, it also resurrected a peculiar online theory about “two” Donald Trumps allegedly running the country.
It started in 2016, when former Republican rival Ben Carson endorsed Trump for the party’s presidential candidate.
Carson said there were two “two different Donald Trumps,” one public and one private, with his “very cerebral” version being perfect for the White House.
When asked to comment on Carson’s words, Trump initially agreed, but then took his words back, saying “I don’t think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there’s one Donald Trump.”
Ben Carson said, “There are two Donald Trumps.” Why does no one ever consider looking into the reason for this?
— NCM Terlyn222 (@terlyn222) 14 октября 2017 г.
The theory was further fueled when Trump was asked by MSNBC to reveal the name of his main consultant during the presidential race.
Trump in Vegas and Trump in Puerto Rico two VERY different Trumps. wonder why?!?!
— Kelli Dawn Hancock (@Kelli_Dawn) 4 октября 2017 г.
“I’m speaking with myself, number one,” Trump replied, giving rise to tongue-in-cheek theories that the Republican candidate may have a clone who he refers to as “Number One.”
The media also often speaks of ‘Two Trumps’ when comparing his balanced teleprompter addresses and improvised speeches, which are full of boasting and conflicting statements.
