Trump boast gets a laugh at UN

United Nations – President Donald Trump is highlighting U.S. gains under his watch as he opens his address to the U.N. General Assembly – and is getting a laugh.

Trump told leaders from around the world Tuesday the American economy is “booming like never before” and 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 responded by saying, “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.”

Trump says 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.”

Trump ran a bit late for his once-a-year speech at the U.N. General Assembly, forcing organizers to change the order of speakers.

Trump was scheduled to speak second at Tuesday’s session, after Brazilian President Michel Temer. Instead, Temer’s speech was followed by an awkward pause as U.N. officials prepared the podium to accommodate the No. 3 speaker, Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno Garces, who is in a wheelchair.

Trump’s motorcade arrived during Moreno’s speech at the U.N. headquarters in New York. The White House did not immediately explain why Trump was late.

Trump’s “America First” policies and criticism of allies have clashed with the multilateral spirit of the U.N. General Assembly.