Donald Trump got back from Asia on Tuesday night. By Wednesday afternoon, he was taking a victory lap.
Trump’s speech, which ran for more than 20 minutes, will be remembered primarily for Trump’s dry mouth — and his need for water.
The reason for that is not only because Trump had been so critical of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s water-drinking habits during the 2016 campaign. (Karma!) It’s also because Trump’s speech amounted to a dry recitation of where he had been, who he had seen and how much he was loved during his trip.
This was Trump playing his own hype man. He felt like the Asia trip went well and he wasn’t getting enough credit for exactly how well it went. So, why not give a speech and force the “fake news” to cover it?
From his opening statement onward, it was clear that Trump’s lone goal with the speech was to pat himself on the back. Repeatedly.
Here’s how the speech started:
“Last night I returned from a historic 12-day trip to Asia. This journey took us to five nations to meet with dozens of foreign leaders, participate in three formal state visits and attend three key regional summits. It was the longest visit to the region by an American president in more than a quarter of a century. Everywhere we went our foreign hosts greeted the American delegation, myself included, with incredible warmth, hospitality, and most importantly, respect. And this great respect showed very well our country is further evidence that America’s renewed confidence and standing in the world has never been stronger than it is right now.”
“Historic.” “The longest visit.” “Incredible warmth.” “Great respect.” “Never been stronger.”
Trump’s reliance on superlatives isn’t new, but it is revealing. He so badly wants to get credit for, quite literally, making America great again in a single trip. He said as much in his speech Wednesday: “During our travels this is exactly what the world saw: A strong, proud, and confident America. Once again our country is optimistic about the future.”
That was fast! But Trump’s emphasis on not only solving America’s image problems but doing so very, very quickly was a theme throughout his Asia trip. In a press conference aboard Air Force One while flying in Vietnam over the weekend, here are few of the things Trump claimed credit for:
“Prime Minister Abe came up to me just at the end and he said that since you left South Korea and Japan that those two countries are now getting along much much better.”
“There’s been a real bonding between South Korea and Japan.”
“They say in the history of people coming to China, there’s been nothing like that and I believe it.” (This was about Trump dining with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Forbidden City — the first time a US president has dined there since the founding of modern China.)
“It’s the biggest state entrance and the biggest state dinner they’ve ever had. By far.” (Again, China.)
Trump is someone who needs his successes — real or imagined — acknowledged. And when he isn’t getting proper credit — or proper credit as he imagines it — he gets angry and frustrated.
You can imagine him stewing on his flight back from Manila on Tuesday as coverage of embattled Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore dominated TV screens. (Trump was asked for a comment about Moore at the conclusion of his speech Wednesday, but ignored it.)
You can also imagine him insisting to aides that he give this speech as a way to tell the story he wanted told about his many firsts and overwhelming successes during his two weeks in Asia.
So, speech given.
Success in changing the subject? Only if you count the momentary fact that people will be talking about Trump’s dry mouth rather than whether Moore will drop from the Alabama race.