President Donald Trump, never one to shy away from controversy or colorful language, made headlines again on Friday, October 17, 2025, when he launched into a peculiar tirade during a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The subject of his outburst? An alleged plan by Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, to construct a railroad—or perhaps a tunnel—from the continental United States all the way to the Hawaiian Islands. The only problem: Senator Hirono has never advocated for any such project, and the story itself is rooted in a years-old joke that has been repeatedly misrepresented by Trump and his allies.
According to The New Republic and Raw Story, Trump, now 79, told the assembled officials, "She wanted a tunnel from the mainland to Hawaii. Then she said, ‘Well, we can’t do that, so we’re gonna build a railroad to Hawaii.’ Do you remember? She’s a current, sitting senator, a Democrat. She wants a railroad to go to Hawaii. You know who that is, right?" The president, in his trademark style, nearly veered into insult before catching himself: "She’s another b— She’s another beauty."
The moment, bizarre as it was, is only the latest in a series of Trump’s public statements that have raised eyebrows—and, increasingly, questions about his cognitive state. The New Republic didn’t mince words, describing the president’s remarks as "a nesting doll of inaccuracies," and speculating that this episode may be symptomatic of cognitive decline. The incident quickly became fodder for political commentators and late-night comedians alike, but the underlying facts—and the origins of Trump’s claim—are worth unpacking.
To understand how we got here, it helps to rewind to 2019, when the Green New Deal was first introduced by progressive Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. The ambitious climate proposal sought to address greenhouse gas emissions and transition the U.S. economy toward renewable energy. However, it quickly became the subject of misinformation and partisan spin. Conservative media outlets and politicians, including Trump, seized upon a line in an early Green New Deal whitepaper that stated, in essence, that some emissions would be difficult to eliminate entirely: “because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast.”
This tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment was meant to highlight the practical limits of even the most aggressive climate reforms. Nevertheless, right-wing commentators and outlets distorted the message, claiming—without basis—that the Green New Deal would ban air travel and beef. The narrative snowballed, fueled by repeated mentions in conservative circles and amplified by Trump himself.
Enter Senator Mazie Hirono. As a supporter of the Green New Deal, she became a convenient target for critics. In a 2019 interview with a Fox News anchor, Hirono was asked about the supposed elimination of air travel—a claim that was already demonstrably false. Responding with a laugh, she quipped, "That would be pretty hard for Hawaii." It was a moment of levity, a wink to the geographic reality that Hawaii is separated from the mainland by thousands of miles of open ocean. For most, the joke was obvious. But for Trump and his allies, it became the kernel of a new, misleading talking point.
At a rally in February 2019, Trump labeled Hirono “crazy” for supporting what he (incorrectly) believed was a plan to eliminate flights to Hawaii. Over the next six years, the story mutated further in Trump’s retellings, culminating in Friday’s assertion that Hirono wanted a literal railroad—or a tunnel—spanning the Pacific. As The New Republic pointed out, the president’s version of events is not only untrue, but also a striking example of how misinformation can take on a life of its own, especially when repeated by powerful figures.
What makes this episode particularly striking is how a single sarcastic comment, made in response to a bad-faith question, has been twisted and weaponized. The original exchange—Hirono’s wry, “That would be pretty hard for Hawaii”—was a clear indication that she found the notion of replacing all air travel with trains, especially for her home state, to be absurd. Yet, rather than let the joke stand, Trump and his supporters have continually cited it as evidence of Democratic extremism or, more recently, as a sign of Hirono’s supposed impracticality.
For those following the evolution of this story, the latest iteration is almost surreal. In Friday's meeting, as reported by Raw Story, Trump appeared genuinely convinced that Hirono had seriously proposed a transoceanic tunnel or railroad. This, despite the logistical impossibility and the complete lack of any such proposal in the public record. The spectacle left some observers questioning the president’s grasp on reality, and others simply shaking their heads at the persistence of political mythmaking.
Meanwhile, the broader context of the Green New Deal and its reception in American politics remains instructive. The proposal itself never called for the elimination of air travel or beef, despite persistent claims to the contrary. As The New Republic noted, the language about emissions offsets was always intended to acknowledge the challenges of a total transition, not to set unrealistic or draconian goals. Yet, as the “train to Hawaii” episode demonstrates, a misreading—or deliberate distortion—of policy language can have a long and unpredictable afterlife.
Senator Hirono, for her part, has not responded directly to Trump’s latest claim, but her 2019 comment continues to serve as a reminder of how humor and sarcasm can be lost—or willfully ignored—in the partisan fray. The incident also raises questions about the responsibilities of public figures to engage honestly with policy debates, and about the ways in which misinformation can shape public perceptions for years on end.
For President Trump, the episode is yet another chapter in a long-running saga of controversial statements and factually dubious claims. Whether it signals deeper cognitive issues, as some critics suggest, or simply reflects his penchant for embellishment, the “railroad to Hawaii” story is likely to linger in the public imagination—if only as a cautionary tale about the power of political storytelling gone awry.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: In the world of American politics, even the most outlandish ideas can find new life, especially when repeated from the highest office in the land. And sometimes, a joke meant to highlight absurdity can end up taking on a reality all its own.