In comments in Japan on Saturday, President Donald Trump appeared to be confounded by the terms school “busing,” as well as Western-style democratic “liberalism” that was attacked by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked at a news conference as the G-20 summit wrapped up about Putin’s attack on the principles that guide the world’s democracies, Trump apparently interpreted the Russian leader’s comments as criticism of “liberals” and he started to rant about California — Los Angeles and San Francisco in particular.

Trump also talked around two questions about the busing of children to help achieve racial integration in the U.S. He seemed to think the queries concerned what he referred to as the “primary method of getting people to schools.” He failed to address the issue of busing children to other districts that began in the 1970s to desegregate American classrooms and that sparked major local controversies.

NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked if he believed busing was a “viable way of integrating schools.”

“Well, it has been something that they’ve done for a long period of time,” Trump vaguely responded. “I mean, you know, there aren’t that many ways you’re going to get people to schools. So this is something that’s been done ... it is certainly a primary method of getting people to schools.”