Trump waits for applause at UN after boasting America is 'stronger than ever' but gets awkward silence

 Donald Trump opened his United Nations speech with a sweeping declaration of American strength. Then came an awkward pause.

'America is back, and our country is stronger today than ever before,' Trump told world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York on 22 September. He appeared to wait for applause, but the opening response was notably muted, with several awkward silences reported from inside the chamber.

The moment set the tone for an address that soon moved from boasts about US power to an extraordinary threat against Iran, followed by an unexpected prediction that a deal could come after the US midterm elections.

Trump's Strength Message Meets Silence

Trump used the opening of his speech to portray the United States as an unrivalled global power.

'Our economy is the envy of the world. Our military is the most powerful on earth. Our technology is second to none,' he said, before adding that America was 'rising' and its power was 'expanding'.

But the response to his opening declaration was strikingly subdued.

That does not mean the chamber remained silent throughout. Trump's later pledge that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon generated applause throughout the chamber, according to the Los Angeles Times. The contrast made the opening pause stand out even more.

Trump Threatens To 'Annihilate' Iran

The speech took a far darker turn when Trump addressed Iran.

With Iranian representatives in the chamber, he presented what he described as a choice between reaching an agreement and destroying the Islamic Republic.

'Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?' Trump asked, before continuing: 'Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?'

Trump used the remarks to defend the US campaign against Iran and his insistence that Tehran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.

He also called on other countries to maintain economic pressure on Iran, while claiming that US military action had severely weakened the country's military capabilities. Those claims formed a central part of his defence of the conflict.