President Trump met with a handful of world leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York beginning Monday, taking the opportunity to tout his own political skills and deride the American media on the world stage.
The president first met with the leader of Pakistan Monday, telling reporters he thinks he should receive the Nobel Peace Prize for a number of things but won’t because the system isn’t fair. The president told Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan that if he and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi want him to mediate an agreement over Kashmir, he’s willing to do so because he’s an “extremely good arbitrator.”
Khan said Pakistan looks to the U.S. “to put out flames in the world.” When members of the Pakistani press corps offered glowing words for Mr. Trump, the president lamented that the U.S. doesn’t have reporters like that.
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“There’s a tremendous spirit from your press. I don’t see that. With us, they want to always tear our country down. And with your press, they would like to see something positive for your country,” Mr. Trump said.
As the afternoon continued, the president met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, announcing the U.S. would be increasing its military presence in Poland. But he also tore into former Vice President Joe Biden and the U.S. media over a call he had with Ukraine’s president. Mr. Trump has admitted he brought up Biden and corruption during that call. However, he denied that he had threatened to withhold aid from Ukraine if it did not carry out his wishes.
Mr. Trump also said he hoped the transcript of his call would be released — but then said he doesn’t think it should be released because it would set a bad precedent. He then blasted the American media for how it’s covered the topic.
“You’re crooked as hell,” Mr. Trump said.
In yet another bilateral meeting with Singapore’s prime minister, the president mocked CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, calling him “Fredo” after an exchange Cuomo had with the president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
“Rudy Giuliani took Fredo to the cleaners,” the president said deridingly.
Towards the end of the day, Mr. Trump claimed during a meeting with South Korea’s president that he’s had two “successful” summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, even though those meetings have not resulted in tangible steps towards denuclearization. Mr. Trump said he’s not considering taking any additional actions such as sanctions towards North Korea, insisting he has a “good relationship” with Kim.
Mr. Trump’s packed schedule continues Tuesday, when he’ll address UNGA and hold more bilateral meetings with world leaders. This year’s UNGA comes after the Pentagon on Friday announced the impending deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia as a defensive posture against Iran. The U.S. blames Iran for recent strikes on a Saudi oil facility.
