Trump

Trump suggests US is now 'respected all over the world' – but people have other ideas

Trump appears to fall asleep during National Guard briefing in Memphis
Reuters

US president Donald Trump has insisted the United States is now a country that is “respected” again after being a “laughing stock” – but people have other thoughts.

Not one to downplay his own perceived accomplishments, Trump has made the suggestion that, after a year-and-a-half (almost exactly the length of his current presidency), the US has gone from a laughing stock to being respected again on the world stage.

He made the comments during a Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable in Tennessee and cited the “King of Saudi Arabia” as his source of the assessment.

Trump said: “Everybody knows we have the greatest, most powerful military in the world. We’re in a position that we haven't seen. We’re respected. You know, our country now is respected all over the world. A year and a half ago we were a laughing stock. We were a laughing stock. The King of Saudi Arabia told me.”

Rather unsurprisingly, plenty of people had a starkly opposed view from Trump, who is accused of living in a “parallel universe”.

“‘Respected’ is not quite the word the world had in mind,” wrote one person.

Someone else argued: “Trump has made America a pariah.”

Another wrote: “Trump in a parallel universe. The EU, the Japanese, Canada, Latin America horrified.”

“Incredible that Trump does not realize that he has made the US a laughing stock for the first time,” someone else argued.

It was at the same roundtable where Trump got members of his cabinet to see who could praise him the most. The cringeworthy moment drew comparisons with North Korea.

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