Trump boasts of America’s might, draws headshakes at UN
CAMEROON, Cameroon — President Donald Trump delivered a sharp rebuke of global governing at the United Nations on Tuesday, drawing headshakes and even mocking laughter from fellow world leaders as he promoted his aggressive “America First” agenda and boasted of America’s economic and military might.
Trump arrived late, forcing a last-minute scheduling switch, then received polite applause but also blank stares as he took his blustery brand of policies to the annual General Assembly.
Speaking in triumphal terms, Trump approached the address as an annual report to the world on his country’s progress since his inauguration. He touted economic figures, declared that the U.S. military is “more powerful than it has ever been before,” and crowed that in “less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.”
Five sentences into the president’s remarks, the audience began to chuckle and some leaders broke into outright laughter, suggesting the one-time reality television star’s puffery is as familiar abroad as it is at home. Appearing briefly flustered, Trump smiled and joked that it was not the reaction he expected “but that’s all right.”