United States President Donald Trump’s opening remarks at the United Nations yesterday drew laughter from world leaders bracing for a braggadocios address.
The president was highlighting U.S. gains under his watch as he opened his address to the U.N. General Assembly.
He said the American economy was “booming like never before” and that his administration has accomplished more in less than two years than almost any other administration.
His boast elicited laughter from the scores of heads of state and delegates in the audience for the speech. Trump, who has long claimed that his predecessors’ weak leadership prompted other nations “to laugh” at the US president.
He appeared flustered, taking in stride, and proclaimed, “didn’t expect that reaction but that’s OK,” before moving on the extraordinary progress he says he’s overseen in the U.S.
Trump said the U.S. is a “stronger, safer and richer country” than when he took office in January 2017. He says “we are standing up for America and for the American people, and we are also standing up for the world.”
Some in the audience also grumbled during Trump’s remarks when he said “we reject the ideology” of globalism and criticized nations such as Germany for agreeing to an oil pipeline with Russia.
When Trump criticized socialism, a member of the Swedish delegation frowned with disapproval.
A year ago at the United Nations, the U.S. president was slapping North Korea with heavy sanctions.
Now he said, “The missiles and rockets are no longer flying in every direction. I would like to thank Chairman Kim for his current and steps he has taken,’ Trump said while acknowledging, “So much work remains to be done.”
Trump relentlessly hammered Iran as a state sponsor of terror and chided China for alleged currency manipulation and intellectual property theft. “Those days are over.
We will no longer tolerate such abuse,” Trump said. “We will not allow our workers to be victimized, our companies to be cheated, and our wealth to be plundered and transferred. America will never apologize for protecting its citizens.”
Trump’s resounding message throughout the remarks to his global audience was that he would not allow America to be taken advantage of by friends or enemies.
“Moving forward, we are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends,” he announced.