Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Wednesday that the laughs during President Trump’s speech to the world organization was not disrespectful — but rather awe at his undiplomatic honesty.
“They love how honest he is and it is not diplomatic and they find it funny,” Mrs. Haley said on Fox News. “He is very truthful [and] they kind of were taken back by it.”
She said world leaders actually have a new respect for the U.S.
“All day yesterday they were falling over themselves to get a picture with him, to talk about how great his speech was, how strong it was,” she said. “Whether he said good things about them or not, they love that he is honest with them. And they’ve never seen anything like it and so there is a respect there.”
News reports and Mr. Trump’s political foes portrayed the laughs during his speech Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly as world leaders mocking the president and showing that he turned the U.S. into a joke.
“My administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” Mr. Trump said to titters.
“So true,” he quipped, provoking laughs among the more than 130 world leaders in the room. “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK,” he said to more laughs.
Mrs. Haley said the news media got it wrong.
“I saw that the media was trying to make it something disrespectful. That’s not what it was,” she said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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