So, President Trump walks into a bar...or, um, actually, it was the United Nations General Assembly, okay? It might as well have been a bar, though, because Trump proceeds to carry on like a drunkard, talking about how great he is, and thinking that his big mouth will impress, that he will knock the listening crowd out by listing his accomplishments.
He says: "I stand before the United Nations General Assembly to share the extraordinary progress we've made. In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country."
The room erupts in laughter.
It sounds like a joke, perhaps. But President Trump certainly did not intend for it to come out as a joke. There he was, doing his infamous boasting like a child. And unlike in other, more favorable environments, where he receives thunderous applause after such empty boasts, he was faced with world leaders laughing at him to his face.
He was very clearly caught by surprise.
"So true, I didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay." Trump responded, before going on with his speech.
No, I guess he would not expect people to actually laugh when he boasts about his list of supposed accomplishments. But when you surround yourself so completely in a delusional world of your own making, how can you expect to take a dose of reality afterwards? He has said some similar things lately, and gotten far more enthusiastic support.
In Las Vegas, he told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters:
"I don't believe there has been any administration in the history of this country that has done more in two years -- and we're not even up to two years yet -- than our administration."
And in a group of sheriffs earlier in September, he said:
"Nobody has done what this administration has done in terms of getting things passed and getting things through."
Of course, both times, Trump was speaking before his supporters, who took him and his claims seriously. True, he is shamelessly boasting like a child in each, showing a complete lack of humility and, frankly, class. But to then believe, as he apparently did, that he would be able to say those kinds of things before an assembly of world leaders, and expect people to take him seriously?
This man, and his supposedly great presidency, are an absolute joke. Here is a man so childish that he makes a speech before the entire world, and cannot help himself, but has to praise his own supposed accomplishments. He is so needy, that he apparently feels that the entire world seems to owe him something, and that they all need to recognize his status as a "very stable genius." It's not enough to have his name up high above cities not just in this country, but around the world, to clearly reveal what a shallow man he is, how empty he is on the inside. No, he takes the opportunity he has to address the United Nations to talk about his favorite subject: himself.
Perhaps he expected applause, or "oohs" and "aahs." Who knows what this hollow man expected after heaping such lavish and greatly exaggerated praise of himself, transparently? But instead of getting the thunderous applause that he has apparently grown too used to during one of those ridiculous rallies that he loves so much, he gets laughed at in front of the entire world instead, in a moment that surely will be remembered. This will indeed be part of his lasting legacy. Maybe tens of millions of Americans are apparently too shallow or stupid in their own right to recognize Trump for what he is. The rest of the world, however, sees him more clearly for the clownish figure that he really is.
This incident hits him where it hurts most - his monumental ego. But just because America elected this clown, does not mean that the world has to take him seriously. Maybe he and his cronies and supporters try to bully all Americans to respect him - despite the fact that he has done nothing to earn that respect - but that does not mean that the rest of the world is going to be bullied. He's a clown act, always going overboard in praising himself and touting imaginary accomplishments. His presidency has been an abject failure, and the world let him know by literally laughing at him, to his face.
Remember that during the presidential campaign, Trump himself warned that the whole world was laughing at us, and now, they really are laughing - at his expense. They expected to march proudly before the entire world, and to show a supposed strength that the entire world would be helpless but to admire.
He boasted - before ever being elected - all sorts of grandiose things that he would manage to accomplish, and quickly. And so delusional is he, that he believes that he has already largely succeeded in "Making America Great Again." Never mind that he broke his promise towards paying off the national debt, instead adding to it with enormous tax breaks benefiting mostly the wealthiest Americans - including himself, of course. Never mind that he has insulted many other nations by referring to them as "shithole countries," or that he wanted to set up a registry of people of a certain faith, or that he accused Mexican immigrants of being rapist or criminals, or that he showed reluctance at criticizing outright Nazis marching on American streets, to the point that even prominent members of his own party, and even some members of his own administration, seemed horrified. Never mind his constant, relentless display of childish, immature behavior, from ridiculous, almost laughably petty and vindictive tweets, to name-calling and blatant threats to other countries, threatening massive destruction and wiping them off the map. Never mind his pulling his country out of major international agreements repeatedly. Never mind his relentless lying, and his denial of basic truths, including scientific facts.
But he got a very public wake up call to try and rouse him out of his dream world. He has apparently gotten too used to people telling him what he wants to hear, and now what he needs to hear. His supporters will applaud everything that he says, no matter what, and no matter how ridiculous or blatantly untrue. The people within his administration - the ones who are not too busy referring to him as a "fucking moron," that is - are apparently unwilling to attempt to shake him out of his delusions.
The rest of the world, however, clearly does not feel they owe this imbecile anything. Trump was laughed at, and in front of the entire world. No, that's not fake news. It happened, and for everyone to see. It was a moment that will surely live on, and I suspect will largely define his presidency, and the essence of who he is as a man. I do not believe that it is a stretch to suggest that is how symbolic this moment was.
So, what's the big, bad orange clown going to do about it? What are all of his tough guy supporters going to do about it?
What a joke this man and his fake presidency is. Glad at least that the rest of the world has sense enough to see him as he truly is and, most importantly, to let him know it to his face.
This presidency has been an absolute disaster for this nation, and indeed, the entire world. This man lacks not only any measure of restraint and humility, but any semblance of stability, to boot. His rise to the presidency has polarized the nation like perhaps nothing in this country's history before. His policies have made him one of the most unpopular presidents in American history, and I sincerely believe that they will irreparably damage the nation, as well as his own legacy, when the dust settles. Unfortunately, his policies also have impacted much of the world, as well. his denial of science and any semblance of responsibility towards future generations by withdrawing the United States from the Paris Accord was a disaster, condemned by the entire world. His withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council was a slap in the face to human rights. His withdrawing the United States from the Iran Deal, and from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and from the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as his opening hostilities with formerly allied nations, have destabilized the world, as has his starting trade wars with China and the European Union and Canada and Mexico. Trump is a disaster, and the only people not in on the fact that he is a very bad joke gone much too far are his enthusiastic supporters, and, of course, Trump himself.
However, for once, yesterday, he got a small dose of reality. He praised himself, as he always does. And instead of the usual applause celebrating his supposed accomplishments, he was laughed at instead.
No one deserves it more than Donald Trump.
Unfortunately, he still represents the United States as the voice and the literal and figurative "Ugly American" face for the next couple of years, at least. This is a shame that will last for this nation for a very long time to come. Trump represents the very worst of American characteristics, and what American currently value. He also represents the clear disconnect between what he and far too many Americans believe of himself and themselves, versus what the rest of the world more clearly sees as the truth about Trump and the tens of millions of like-minded Americans who support him.
These are the articles that I used, and from which I got the quotes used above, in writing this particular blog entry:
Trump has complained that “the world is laughing at us.” On Tuesday, it did. by Greg Walters Sep 25, 2018:
Donald Trump's worldview was laid bare at the UN -- and it should worry anyone who understands history Nic Robertson-Profile-Image Analysis by Nic Robertson, CNN Updated 11:09 PM ET, Tue September 25, 2018
Trump Shrugs Off Laughter At U.N.: 'Didn't Expect That Reaction, But That's OK' by Scott Horsley, September 25, 2018:
Donald Trump bragged about himself to the United Nations. The UN laughed. Chris Cillizza Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large Updated 3:42 PM ET, Tue September 25, 2018:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/25/politics/donald-trump-un-speech-laugh/index.html
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