--- title: Trump Touted Accomplishments in U.N. Speech. Leaders Laughed description: President Donald Trump boasted about his accomplishments at the United Nations, provoking laughter from the audience of global leaders canonical: https://time.com/5405800/donald-trump-united-nations-speech-laughter/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-25T16:36:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:32:18.647Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Boasted About His Accomplishments at the U.N. The Audience Laughed og:description: "Didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay," Trump said og:url: https://time.com/5405800/donald-trump-united-nations-speech-laughter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdcce3ec9ac60ac0/69893b13457a526b35d5f782/donald-trump-united-nations-laughter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3759 og:image:height: 2114 og:image:alt: UN-ASSEMBLY-DIPLOMACY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Boasted About His Accomplishments at the U.N. The Audience Laughed twitter:description: "Didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay," Trump said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdcce3ec9ac60ac0/69893b13457a526b35d5f782/donald-trump-united-nations-laughter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Boasted About His Accomplishments at the United Nations. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Sep 25, 2018 4:36 PM UTC  President Donald Trump addresses the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 25, 2018. President Donald Trump addresses the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 25, 2018.Timothy Clary—AFP/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Sep 25, 2018 4:36 PM UTC Addressing the [United Nations General Assembly](http://time.com/5405514/un-general-assembly-convenes-2018/) on Tuesday, President Donald Trump boasted that his administration had already “accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country” — a claim that provoked unintentional laughter from the audience of global leaders. “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said at the beginning of his address. “So true!” Audible laughter from the audience followed. “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” Trump said in response. Before he was elected president, Trump frequently lamented that “the world is laughing at us,” as he criticized policies of the Obama Administration. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/266034957875544064) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/543075492849799168) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/498008486551506945) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/922830229525225477) “Our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before. In other words, the United States is stronger, safer and a richer country than it was when I assumed office less than two years ago,” Trump said Tuesday. “We are standing up for America and for the American people, and we are also standing up for the world.” He touted his “highly productive” summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and pointed to progress on denuclearization, thanking Kim “for his courage.” The remarks represented a stark difference from Trump’s [first speech to the United Nations](http://time.com/4947942/trump-totally-destroy-threatens-north-korea-un-speech-transcript/) one year ago, when he threatened to [“totally destroy North Korea.](http://time.com/4947990/trump-threatens-north-korea-totally-destroy/)” Trump also reiterated his administration’s America First policies, criticizing the International Criminal Court and U.N. Human Rights Council, saying “we reject the ideology of globalism.” “Together, let us choose a future of patriotism, prosperity and pride,” Trump said. “Let us choose peace and freedom over domination and defeat. And let us come here to this place to stand for our people and our nations, forever strong, forever sovereign.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5405800/donald-trump-united-nations-speech-laughter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5405800/donald-trump-united-nations-speech-laughter/"},"headline":"President Trump Boasted About His Accomplishments at the United Nations. 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