In 2014, Donald Trump tweeted, "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!" It is unclear what he was talking about, since Barack Obama was president at the time, and was widely respected by world leaders. But people didn't pay the tweet much mind. After all, this was the man who peddled a ridiculous conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States. Crazy gonna crazy.
Four years later, Donald Trump is president, and that 2014 tweet - like so many of his old tweets - has proved ironic. At the United Nations General Assembly, Trump took the world stage to explain his 'America First' agenda. As he addressed his constituents, he boasted, "In less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country…so true." The U.N. burst into laughter at this outrageous claim, startling the president. That's right, world leaders literally laughed out loud at his expense. "Didn't expect that reaction, but okay."
It's no surprise that other countries think Trump is a joke. When he visited England, the Brits threw a massive protest, and greeted him with a giant blimp baby. But typically Trump delivers blustery, mendacious speeches in front of his fawning supporters in crimson red states. You don't often see him address an audience of Plaid Shirt Guys. Also, he's spent so much time lashing out at the international community, it's refreshing to see a rejoinder. A clip of the awkward UN moment went viral on social media. Who's the "laughing stock to the entire World" now?
Of course, Fox News cut the clip short in their Twitter post, to ignore the laughter, like a good state TV propaganda network. Remember when CNN and MSNBC did the same with Obama's UN speeches? Me neither. Maybe during Trump's next UN speech, they'll extend the clip, and add audio of rapturous applause, and CGI MAGA hats on all the world leaders' heads. On dark corners of the internet, Trump supporters have attempted to defend his speech, arguing the president was trying to make the UN laugh. It's like that time you walked into a glass door - you totally meant to do that.
One person gave Trump's speech the Curb Your Enthusiasm treatment.
Trump continued with this 34-minute speech, and managed not to get any more derisive laughter. The Washington Post described it as a "greatest hits version of his favorite claims from his campaign rallies with some added foreign policy." You can view their fact-checking video below.
After the speech, Trump ranted about the scandals surrounding Brett Kavanaugh, his controversial pick for Supreme Court Justice. Kavanaugh has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by three women. Christine Blasey Ford alleges that Kavanaugh attempted to sexually assault her. Deborah Ramirez alleges that Kavanaugh exposed himself and thrust his penis in her face. And Julie Swetnick claims that she witnessed Kavanaugh participate in gang rapes, and that she was raped when Kavanaugh was present.
After these courageous women came forward, Trump treated with them with respect, and immediately demanded an FBI investigation - nah, just kidding. He called them liars and drunks participating in a "Democratic con game" to smear the good judge's name. Also, he has not called for any FBI investigation into these allegations. Hmm, wonder why?
Sometimes Trump is a laughingstock, and sometimes he's not funny at all.
