Trump claims he ‘meant to be laughed at’ by world leaders at UN General Assembly

Clark Mindock
Updated

President Donald Trump definitely meant to make a room of international delegates at the United Nations General Assembly laugh at him, or so he says.

Mr Trump made the claim on Tuesday afternoon between events at the yearly meeting, telling reporters that his claim — “in less than two years, my administration has accomplished almost more than any other administration in the history of our country” — was meant to get laughs, which it did.

“Oh it was great. Well that was meant to get some laughter, but it was great,” Mr Trump said of the laughter.

Mr Trump, when he made the comment in his speech, first reacted in surprise after he received a spurt of laughter from his audience.

“Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” Mr Trump said, smiling. A louder laugh was then heard in the room.

Mr Trump is a particularly divisive American leader when it comes to the UN, and has espoused an “America First” doctrine that appears to run counter to the UN’s goal of multilateral international cooperation.

During his speech to the general assembly on Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested that the rest of the world should respect US sovereignty, and work to ensure their own sovereign independence.

“We are standing up for America and the American people and we are also standing up for the world. This is great news for our citizens and for peace-loving people everywhere,“ he said.

He continued, saying that every country has its “sovereign” right to make its own decisions.

“We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,” Mr Trump said.

The spectacle of a room full of foreign dignitaries appearing to laugh at Mr Trump encouraged people online to recall some of the president’s past remarks on the topic. So, they retweeted some years-old tweets from Mr Trump that he posted up to attack his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.

“We need a President who isn’t a laughing stock to the entire World,” one tweet from 2014 read. “We need a truly great leader, a genius at strategy and winning. Respect!”