--- title: 2016 Election: Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Facts description: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump revealed holes in his knowledge of world affairs Thursday. canonical: https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-04T04:45:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:32:24.880Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Knowledge og:description: The GOP nomination frontrunner said he'd learn "when it's appropriate." og:url: https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62d344f290b7feef/698862452dce015c669e55f8/rtx1qzz9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3608 og:image:height: 2030 og:image:alt: U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks in New York og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Knowledge twitter:description: The GOP nomination frontrunner said he'd learn "when it's appropriate." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62d344f290b7feef/698862452dce015c669e55f8/rtx1qzz9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Knowledge in New Interview > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3bc4cb35-e23a-40d4-8d71-47633225abb0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Had A Not-So-Great Radio Interview On Foreign Policy [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Had A Not-So-Great Radio Interview On Foreign Policy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SylpSUTV.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2015-09-04. Donald Trump took a hit in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt when asked a foreign policy question he didn't quite understand._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 4, 2015 4:45 AM UTC Donald Trump took a hit in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt when asked a foreign policy question he didn't quite understand. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 4, 2015 4:45 AM UTC Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump revealed holes in his knowledge of world affairs Thursday in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, appearing to conflate the Kurdish people with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s overseas force as well as confusing the names and leaders of various Islamist extremist groups. The interview with Hewitt, who will co-moderate this month’s CNN debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, showed that there is thus far little substance behind the businessman-turned-presidential-candidate’s bluster. Trump repeatedly claimed that Hewitt’s questions were of the “gotcha” variety, a reference to 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s frustrations with media questions she deemed as designed embarrass her. “Well, that is a gotcha question, though,” Trump protested to Hewitt when asked whether he was familiar with the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). “I mean, you know, when you’re asking me about who’s running this, this this, that’s not, that is not, I will be so good at the military, your head will spin.” When Hewitt asked Trump whether he was familiar with Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Quds Force, Trump replied he was, before referencing the Kurds, the U.S.-allied people that resides in northern Iraq, and adjacent territory in southern Turkey, parts of Syria and Iran. “The Kurds, by the way, have been horribly mistreated,” he continued. Hewitt replied with a simple simile for the man who now leads the Republican field nationally and in early states. “Well, Soleimani is to terrorism sort of what Trump is to real estate,” he said. Trump said he was unconcerned by the personalities in the turbulent region since he claimed many would not remain in power in six months, and that he would recruit experts to guide his efforts in office. “I’ll have, I’m a delegator,” he told Hewitt. “I find great people. I find absolutely great people, and I’ll find them in our armed services, and I find absolutely great people.” Trump appeared unable to distinguish between Hamas, the U.S.-designated Sunni terrorist group that controls Gaza, and Hezbollah, the Shiite group that operates in Lebanon and parts of Syria. Asked when he would spend the time to learn the difference, Trump replied “when it’s appropriate.” “I will know more about it than you know,” Trump said. “And believe me, it won’t take me long.” Trump’s Republican allies wasted little time pouncing on his rough performance, with Carly Fiorina appearing on Hewitt’s show an hour later and answering the same questions to Hewitt’s satisfaction. “Hamas is focused in Palestinian territories,” Fiorina said. “Hezbollah focuses in Beirut and other places, but the truth is, both of them are proxies of Iran. Both of them threaten Israel. Both of them are going to be benefitting from the agreement which Obama and Kerry have struck with Iran.” And former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has engaged in a war of words with Trump of his conservative credentials, seemed to pity his rival Thursday, telling reporters he had read the transcript of the exchange with Hewitt. “You gotta know who the players are,” he said. “I’m sure, I’m sure he’ll bone up on this now.” ### Meet Donald Trump's Family  Left: Ivanka Trump with her mother, Ivana, in 1992; Right: Ivanka in New York City in February 2015. Ben Coster—Camera Press/Redux; Gilbert Carrasquillo—Getty Images  Left: Donald Trump Jr. and Donald Trump in 1988; Right: Donald Trump Jr. in New York City in April 2011. Ron Galella—Getty Images; Gilbert Carrasquillo—Getty Images  Left: Eric Trump and Donald Trump in 2007; Right: Eric Trump in New York City in October 2013. James Devaney—Getty Images; Astrid Stawiarz—Getty Images  Left: Marla Maples and Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany on March 19, 1996 in New York City; Right:Tiffany Trump attends Barbie and CFDA Event on Sept. 5, 2014 in New York City. Gregory Pace—Sygma/Corbis; J Carter Rinaldi—Getty Images  Left: Donald Trump's son Barron with his mother Melania at the FAO Schwarz in New York City; Right: Barron Trump with his father, Donald Trump and mother, Melania Knauss on Feb. 16th, 2015. Left: Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images; Right: Mike Pont—NBC/Getty ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:05] Are you familiar with General Soleimani? Yes, [00:10] but go ahead, give me a little, go ahead, tell me. He runs [00:13] the Quds Forces. Yes, okay, right. Do you expect his [00:17] behavior... The Kurds, by the way, have been horribly [00:19] mistreated by us. horribly mistreated by us- No, not the [00:22] Kurds, the Quds Forces, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards [00:24] Quds Forces- Yes, Yes. the bad guys. This is General [00:28] Qassem Soleimani. He leads Iran's infamous Quds Force, [00:31] a secretive arm of Iran's military. [ FOREIGN ] [ SOUND ] [00:36] These are the Kurds They're an ethnic group in the Middle [00:39] East and have been key in fighting against ISIS in northern [00:42] Syria and Iraq. Trump wasn't too happy with Hugh Hewitt's [00:46] little quiz. You know by the way when you say Quds versus [00:49] Kurds, I thought he said Kurds, this third- rate radio [00:52] announcer that I did the show. He claims Hewitt hit him [00:54] with a gotcha question. Hewitt disagreed as did CNN. [00:59] Okay, so is that a gotcha question John Avlon? It's not a [01:02] gotcha question but I also don't think this is a massively [01:06] embaring gap on the Trump scale. Hewitt asked Carly [01:08] Fiarina the same question. She handled it a little better. [01:12] Whether or not he and the Quds force's behavior will be [01:15] impacted by the Iranian deal. Okay, Of course. [01:19] Look, we know that the General of the Quds force has [01:23] been a powerful tool [01:28] of the Iranian regime to sow conflict. Trump [01:32] may know buildings, but he may need to brush up on his [01:35] foreign policy in the future. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Knowledge in New Interview","datePublished":"2015-09-04T04:45:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:32:24.880Z","description":"The tycoon said he'd learn key facts \"when it's appropriate\"","url":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","GOP","Donald Trump","foreign affairs","international relations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62d344f290b7feef/698862452dce015c669e55f8/rtx1qzz9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62d344f290b7feef/698862452dce015c669e55f8/rtx1qzz9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks in New York","caption":"U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks in New York","creditText":"Lucas Jackson—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/","name":"Donald Trump Stumbles on Foreign Policy Knowledge in New Interview"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Had A Not-So-Great Radio Interview On Foreign Policy","description":"Donald Trump took a hit in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt when asked a foreign policy question he didn't quite understand.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SylpSUTV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-04T18:52:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SylpSUTV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/","duration":"PT1M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4022603/2016-election-foreign-affairs-international-relations-donald-trump-republican-nomination/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```