In the latest instalment of Donald Trump’s 'Hilarious Alternative History of the World', the US president has implied his own country is more than a millennium older than it actually is.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Italian president Sergio Mattarella, Mr Trump said:

The United States and Italy are bound together by a shared cultural and political heritage dating back thousands of years to Ancient Rome.

Not only did Mr Trump make this comment, the White House then decided to tweet the footage, quoting the remark directly in a post.

People couldn’t help running with the president’s theme.

But nobody was more baffled by Mr Trump than the Italian translator.

Prompting dramatic edits.

And yes, in case you were wondering, there are reports that at several times during the conference Mr Trump mistakenly referred to Sergio Mozzarella instead of Sergio Mattarella, which some had even predicted ahead of the event.

The indy100 listened to as much as it could bear of the press conference while on a deadline and heard no instance of Mr Trump calling the Italian president “Mozzarella”, it wouldn't be the most confusing thing that Trump has ever done on camera but we're willing to accept he didn't.

While some backed Mr Trump's Ancient Rome reference, saying he may have meant to highlight the impact that ancient Rome has on American society, there is some undeniable evidence for the initial interpretation.

Soberingly, others highlighted a potentially much darker theme.