Trump confusion? Did The Don confuse Jacinda Ardern with Justin Trudeau’s wife?

JACINDA Ardern has played down a story that suggests Donald Trump confused her with a world leader’s wife.

NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has played down suggestions US President Donald Trump confused her with Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s wife at a summit in Asia last week.

Mr Trudeau was supposedly making the introductions as Ms Ardern attended her first major forum since taking office last month when Mr Trump mixed-up the rookie Prime Minister with the Canadian leader’s partner Sophie.

It was reportedly several minutes before he realised his mistake at the East Asia Summit in Manila.

However, Ms Ardern, 37, said details of the encounter had become muddled in the retelling and there was actually no confusion on Mr Trump’s part.

Jacinda Ardern has put rumours to rest that she was mistaken for Justin Trudeau’s wife. Picture AP

She said “a third party” at the meeting of world leaders — who she refused to name — incorrectly thought Mr Trump had failed to identify her and she later told the anecdote to friends back in New Zealand.

The publicly leaked version was unflattering to Mr Trump and Ms Ardern said she would now have to be more careful when telling tales of her encounters in the corridors of power.

“It was a bit of a funny yarn, something I don’t want to cause a diplomatic incident over ... I think I should never have recounted the story,” she told state broadcaster TVNZ.

It comes after Ms Ardern recalled another Mr Trump anecdote from the Manila summit, when she was waiting to make her entrance at the event’s gala dinner.

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, Donald Trump, Jacinda Ardern and Justin Trudeau speak at the recent APEC meeting.

World leaders meet at the APEC summit in Vietnam.

“Trump in jest patted the person next to him on the shoulder, pointed at me and said, ‘This lady caused a lot of upset in her country’, talking about the election,” she told newsroom.co.nz.

“I said, ‘Well, you know, only maybe 40 per cent’, then he said it again and I said, ‘You know’, laughing, ‘no-one marched when I was elected’.” Large protests followed Mr Trump’s election last year but Ms Ardern said the American leader took her riposte in good humour.

“He laughed and it was only afterwards that I reflect that it could have been taken in a very particular way — he did not seem offended,” she said.