Even before his inauguration, President Donald Trump was known for having the loudest voice in the room. Trump lived up to this reputation when addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25. During the “opening debate,” Trump elicited some responses for which he was not planning.  
CNBC reports Trump claimed, “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any other administration in the history of our country.”
After this bold comment was made, laughter was heard throughout the General Assembly Hall with delegates from around the world laughing at Trump for his claim. Taken aback by this response, Trump responded, “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” and received an even more boisterous laugh from the delegates. 
The following day, Brett Samuels at The Hill reported Trump rebuked claims he was a laughing stock instead insisting, “they weren’t laughing at me, they were laughing with me.”
After the dust settled from his big entrance, the U.S. delegation, led by Trump, began chairing meetings of the Security Council. British Prime Minister Theresa May requested the meeting focus on the Russian nerve attack against an agent in the United Kingdom, but Trump instead decided the topic would be Iran, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed a secret Iranian nuclear site. 
When he was informed, protocol dictated the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, must be invited to the council and allowed to speak. Trump decided to revert to the original topic of the Russian nerve attack. His second blunder of the day came when he arrived 20 minutes after the starting time of the Security Council meeting he was chairing.  
When Trump did finally call the meeting to order, he opened by delivering remarks rightfully denouncing Iran as a state-sponsor of terrorism. He made an unpredicted claim saying China was planning on subverting the upcoming Congressional elections in November. Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, vigorously rejected the claims, and all other members of the Security Council seemed confused and bewildered by them.
Trump also seemed to upset Bolivian President Evo Morales, who began his opening remarks by saying, “The United States could not care less about human rights or justice.”
Morales attempted to justify his claims by pointing out the U.S. had withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council, referring to U.S. policy of separating illegal aliens to the U.S. from their children, and criticized the U.S. for opting out of the Paris Accord on climate change amongst other hot-button topics. Uncharacteristically, Trump made no rebuttal to Morales’ claims.
Despite these strange and embarrassing set-backs, the Trump Administration did have some wins during the week. Ambassador Haley joined Venezuelan protesters at the U.N. who were criticizing their president, Nicolas Maduro, and assured them the Trump administration supported them.  
Ambassador Haley’s support greatly angered Maduro, who has failed to address political and humanitarian crises across his country. Mark Feierstein of The Hill reports there have even been talks between U.S. diplomats and Venezuelan military officers to oust Maduro as president. Canada and several European countries support the U.S.’ position on Venezuela, making this a notable win from his trip to the U.N.
Trump has also caught the attention of Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa expressed his hope for Trump to build a golf course in Zimbabwe, and even offered him land to do so. Although, it is highly unlikely Trump will respond to the offer due to Mnangagwa’s election being disputed and him being the recipient of several Western sanctions in accordance with Zimbabwe’s history of human rights abuses.
Someone Trump was interested in doing business with was South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two allies made major strides in reducing the trade deficit between the two countries, and allowed more opportunities for American exports into South Korea, especially automobiles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products. When asked about Moon’s North Korean counterpart, Chairman Kim Jong-Un, Trump praised Kim for being “very open” and “terrific” to denuclearization, despite progress being very slow. Trump also received praise from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi who stated with the U.S. support, he is confident terrorism can be defeated in Egypt and throughout the region.
All in all, it seems Trump’s recent visit to the U.N. was filled with both wins and losses. In terms of optics, his major loss is from the laughter he received from the General Assembly, despite how his staff has tried to spin it. There is no way to make running 20 minutes late to a Security Council meeting look good either, nor was it a good idea for him to levy harsh accusations against China without providing any evidence.
Morales’ comments were also horrible optics for the U.S. Though denuclearization with North Korea is moving at a glacial pace, the new trade deal with South Korea is a definite win. Also going under the win column would be his denouncing Iran’s involvement with terrorism and supporting Israel’s fight for truth with reference to Iran’s nuclear program. Standing with the Venezuelan and Zimbabwean people and securing Egypt’s support against terrorism are also wins. Though we may argue for better or for worse, no one can claim Trump’s visit to the U.N. was “uneventful.”