On his last full day in office, outgoing President Donald Trump issued a 20 minute pre-taped farewell address, where he acknowledged that "a new administration"—that of President-elect Joe Biden—would soon be taking over.
Trump praised what he deemed accomplishments by his administration, particularly in the foreign policy arena, where he boasted that he restored world respect for the United States again.
Watch below.
Trump said:
"The world respects us again. Please don't lose that respect."
The claim is debatable at best.
Upon entering office, Trump embraced a nationalist, isolationist foreign policy doctrine that severed the United States from previous agreements like the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Trump falsely claimed that the United States gave more in foreign aid to the European Union than any other country. He alienated longstanding allies while embracing enemies like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In private, foreign leaders have mocked Trump's leadership. When the outgoing President addressed the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, his hyperbolic claim that he'd done more than almost any President in history was met with laughter from world leaders.
Trump's final year in office—defined by the highest number of virus deaths in the world and by his refusal to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election—further eroded the reputation of the United States abroad.
But even Trump's critics on Twitter said his claim that "the world respects us again" was actually correct—but not for the reasons Trump thinks.
People found Trump's claim completely absurd.
At 12:01 PM this Wednesday, Trump will no longer be President of the United States.
Kerry Dolan/Forbes
@teddysphotos/Instagram
