Respected again

On the rare occasion when he puts himself in a position to answer for his falsehoods, [Trump] has declined to defend them and blamed it on something he had heard. Trump’s aides have privately vented that he doesn’t seem to be moored by real-world facts, even when explained to him repeatedly.

But on Tuesday, Trump got subtly called out for a whopper that he often tells — and by his fellow world leaders, no less. Appearing at the United Nations, Trump recycled a bogus claim that he often makes at partisan rallies, in Fox News interviews and in formal settings: That he has accomplished more to this point in his presidency than his predecessors. The problem is this time he said it in front of an audience that might actually question it.

“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said.

The assembled world leaders gave a bit of an audible response, and Trump was caught off-guard.

[...]

[S]o true,” he said with a smile.

The buzz at that point became audible laughter.

Trump chuckled and said, “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay.”

Then more laughter, accompanied by some applause.

[...]

Just as he seemed genuinely taken aback when NBC’s Peter Alexander called out his electoral college number-fudging last year, he didn’t seem to anticipate anybody questioning his claims of nearly unprecedented success as a president. It was as if he never even countenanced it.

[...]

The laughter was not 100 percent at Trump’s expense. Some in the audience seemed to genuinely appreciate his quip about being surprised at the response. But the whole thing clearly started with audibly expressed skepticism about one of Trump’s more hyperbolic and fabulist claims. It was, at its core, about Trump making a ridiculous claim.

[...]

Later in the speech, Trump made another overzealous claim: That Germany is becoming “totally dependent” upon Russian energy — which is similar to claims he made at a NATO summit a few months back.

The German delegation’s response: more laughter.

[...]

It’s exactly, in fact, the kind of thing Trump once said should be unacceptable for a U.S. president.

  WaPo

Here's a question for you: How will Trump spin this?*

UPDATE:

*UPDATE:  If you answered, "he'll say it was a great success and everybody loved it," you win.

Also...

UPDATE:

“Sometimes, when we see a behavior or listen to arguments or notions that seem so far-fetched, unreasonable, or insane, there is almost natural reaction of laughing,” one Latin American diplomat said, speaking off the record so he could speak freely.

The diplomat added, “It is not laughing at a good joke, but a nervous laugh, or a bad joke turned laughable precisely because the guy who tells the joke doesn't realize how bad it is.”

[...]

“His words in the opening part of the speech were clearly addressed to [a] domestic audience,” wrote one European diplomat in a message that noted that other world leaders do the same. “But as he did it in the Trumpian way (bragging ridiculously about being one of the best administrations in history) people in the audience reacted how they reacted.”

“What would resonate well at a political rally in America sounded a little awkward at the UN General Assembly,” the diplomat added.

  Buzzfeed