US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley insisted that world leaders who laughed at President Donald Trump at the UN Tuesday were actually showing him “respect.”
“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said in all seriousness at the UN General Assembly, drawing laughs from the audience.
“Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK,” he responded.
In an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, Haley said the leaders laughed because “they loved how honest he is.”
“It’s not diplomatic and they find it funny,” she said. “When he goes and he is very truthful, they kind of were taken back by it.”
“All day yesterday, they were falling over themselves to get a picture with him, to talk about how great his speech was,” she continued. “They love that he’s honest with them and they’ve never seen anything like it, so there’s respect there. I saw that the media was trying to make it something disrespectful. That’s not what it was ― they love to be with him.”
@NikkiHaley: “For the first time, Americans aren’t suffering. It’s fair for America.” @foxandfriends
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 26, 2018
Despite admitting that he did not expect the leaders to laugh in the moment, Trump insisted hours later that it was a laugh line.
“Oh, it was great,” he told reporters. “Well, that was meant to get some laughter, but it was great.”
