Despite everything, Donald Trump apparently still genuinely believes he’s on the path to Making America Great Again. Observable reality disagrees with him, but perhaps it’s best to let an old man have his cozy delusions.
His latest claim is that his presidency has totally redeemed the United States’ international reputation, which he says was in the toilet after four years of Joe Biden. Speaking at the Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable, he insisted that because of him, the nation is now “respected”:
"We're in a position we haven't seen. We're respected. You know, our country now is respected all over the world. A year and half ago we were a laughingstock."
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) March 23, 2026
This man is completely insane. pic.twitter.com/HXnKN9R3WT
“Everybody knows we have the greatest and most powerful military in the world and uh, we’re in a position which we haven’t seen. We’re respected. You know our country now is respected all over the world. A year and a half ago we were a laughing stock. We were a laughing stock.”
As usual with Trump, the exact opposite is true. His administration’s chaotic foreign policy has, at best, left the rest of the world scratching its head in confusion. Tariffs come and go at Trump’s whim, the world watches in horror as ICE agents murder civilians and get away with it, and, of course, they all see Trump’s increasingly inane and demented pronouncements.
“The hottest country”
But Trump says not to take his word on this, take the word of the King of Saudi Arabia:
“The King of Saudi Arabia told me a year and half ago. He said ‘President, I can’t believe what’s happened to America. One year ago, you were a laughing stock. Nobody thought you could ever, ever survive. Now you’re the hottest country’. He used that expression. ‘Now you’re the hottest country anywhere in the world’. And we are now. ‘Congratulations, because we’re all partners in this deal, you’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. It’s really amazing.'”
I think it’s safe to slide this conversation into the “things that definitely didn’t happen” folder. For one, it’s suspicious that the King of Saudi Arabia was describing the United States as “the hottest country anywhere in the world,” as this is the exact phrase Trump himself repeatedly uses in his own speeches.
But even if this did happen, can he not see that he’s being buttered up with compliments by foreign powers who want things from him?
The reality is that the US’s international reputation is declining rapidly. A Pew Research poll in mid-2025 shows that citizens of 24 countries considered Trump “arrogant and dangerous” and don’t believe he has the ability to handle major international issues, with the view of the US as the world’s top economic power shrinking.
And that was before Trump chose to set the Middle East on fire. But hey, all empires fall apart at some point. Maybe Trump just sped up the process.
Published: Mar 24, 2026 06:53 am