Kathrine Frich
Donald Trump held a marathon press conference at the White House that stretched to 105 minutes.
Speaking from the podium, the President took questions from reporters and waved documents as he listed what he called major achievements on immigration, foreign policy, and the economy.
But the lengthy address quickly drifted into a series of bizarre tangents, exaggerated accomplishments, and eyebrow-raising personal stories that left even seasoned observers stunned.
‘God is very proud of the job I’ve done’
Early in the press conference, Trump was asked if he believed God was proud of his efforts so far.
The question referenced a comment he had made the year before, claiming God had placed him in office to save the world.
Trump responded: “I do, actually. I think God is very proud of the job I’ve done.” It was one of the first quotes that signaled the tone of the rest of the briefing.
‘I’ve saved tens of millions of lives by stopping eight wars’
Trump claimed credit for ending eight international conflicts and declared he had saved tens of millions of lives.
The conflicts he mentioned included disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and Iran, and others.
Experts and governments involved in several of these conflicts have questioned or dismissed the claim.
Some of the conflicts had de-escalated for unrelated reasons, while others remain ongoing.
‘I was going to call it the Gulf of Trump’
Discussing his previous decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,”
Trump said he had first considered something more self-referential.
“I thought I would be killed if I did that. I wanted to do it, I wanted to. I decided not to do that,” he said, referring to naming it the “Gulf of Trump.”
He said it as a joke, but it fit a long pattern of branding things with his own name.
‘I could have been a professional baseball player’
During a portion of the event where he discussed mental health care, Trump veered off-topic to speak about his childhood in New York.
He said he used to practice baseball at Cunningham Park, near Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital, and added that his mother once told him he could have gone professional.
Locals quickly disputed the geography of the story, noting the hospital is around three miles from the park.
‘You’ll find out’
When asked whether he would consider using military force to take Greenland, Trump gave a cryptic answer: “You’ll find out.”
The President has said the US needs Greenland for national security and has pushed to buy the territory from Denmark.
The idea has been firmly rejected by Danish and European leaders. His refusal to rule out a military option raised alarm among both allies and critics.
