Appearing to be the third to take the floor, Trump essentially broke a long-standing tradition on the order of speeches during the week of high-profile political debates at the UN General Assembly. He was scheduled to be the second to address the audience, right after Brazilian President Michel Temer. The latter was the first to speak in memory of 1946, when a Brazilian envoy famously dared to open the General Assembly session.
The audience reacted to Trump's statement, saying that his administration "has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country" in a way he said he didn't expect.
After a number of videos showing Trump taking the floor emerged online, Twitterians immediately weighed in saying that the president doesn’t quite grasp what the audience is actually laughing about, adding that they are virtually laughing not “with” but “at him.”
Tongue-in-cheek comments most naturally arrived in abundance:
And you just *know* he thinks the laughter and applause was agreement.
— Avs (@Nidjit) 25 сентября 2018 г.
The point must have been lost in the translations.
— Judge Roy Bean (@dhp23913) 25 сентября 2018 г.
Well, his comment is so ridiculous it IS funny!
— Pat Eden (@pat_eden) 25 сентября 2018 г.
The US president, his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka arrived at the high-profile gathering in New York at 10:15 am, despite being second on the schedule to talk at the event slated for 9 am.
