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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — President Trump boasted on Wednesday that nearly 10 months of his “America First” foreign policy had restored strength and respect to the United States on the world stage after years of what he called failed leadership under his predecessors. Hours after returning home from a 12-day, five-country excursion to Asia with few concrete achievements, Mr. Trump made no significant announcements in a speech that he had hyped on Twitter as “a major statement” to be delivered upon his return. Mr. Trump nonetheless declared the trip a resounding success, saying that he had made real progress by uniting the world against North Korea and insisting on reciprocal trade from Asian nations. “America’s renewed confidence and standing in the world has never been stronger than it is right now,” he said. “This is exactly what the world saw: a strong, proud and confident America.” The speech also provided a made-for-Twitter moment in which a clearly parched president interrupted his broadcast to reach for a bottle of water, struggling until an aide told him where to look. And when he finished speaking, Mr. Trump ignored questions from journalists seeking comment on the sexual assault scandal swirling around Roy S. Moore of Alabama, the Republican nominee for Senate in a special election next month. Announced with little notice and delivered midafternoon from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, the president’s speech was designed to be what his critics have never offe... Link to the full article to read more