The United Nations General Assembly is a big deal. All of the UN’s member nations meet up at New York City and discuss important world issues, such as policies, trade, and international alliances, all of which is done presumably over tea and New York style pizza.
But with Donald Trump at the head of the proceedings at the 73rd session of the UNGA, the whole thing became less of a serious meeting about world stuff and more like a stand up comedy set.
That’s because when the orange-faced POTUS stepped up to deliver his speech on Tuesday, it quickly devolved into cringe humour of the highest order when he proudly boasted that his administration has “accomplished more than almost any other administration in the history of our country”.
Since we and every single UN world leader present know that’s absolutely not true, they took it as a joke – a good one too – and gave Trump a resounding round of laughter and applause.
Trump says to UNGA, "In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country." There's a little laughter. Trump says "so true" and there's even more laughter. (via Fox) pic.twitter.com/XHH2YQRHvu
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 25, 2018
The Germans were especially tickled by his bit about their apparently looming dependence on Russian energy.
Trump made some outrageous claims about German energy at the UN — and the German delegation’s reaction was priceless pic.twitter.com/izpa2fKC3B
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 26, 2018
For Trump and his infamously fragile ego, the prospect of being laughed at or mocked is something of a recurring nightmare and it all came true on the biggest possible world stage.
To Trump’s credit, he rolled with everyone’s laughter by saying “didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” which was met with another round of chuckles. But while he took it well in the moment, we can almost expect a tweetstorm of epic proportions in the coming days as he fumes about this on the loo.
While laughter from the UN world leaders won’t remove him from office, it does feel like poetic justice of a kind for a man who once sent out this tweet when Barack Obama was POTUS:
We need a President who isn't a laughing stock to the entire World. We need a truly great leader, a genius at strategy and winning. Respect!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2014
Trump famously said time and time again during his 2016 presidential run that the world is “laughing at us”, with the “us” being America.
Sorry to tell you the hard truth, buddy, they’re just laughing at you.