WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump sought to review his initial year back in the White House, seemingly eager to extend the reflection into the upcoming year.

For over an hour and a half, Trump engaged in a lengthy discourse at the White House, recounting his experiences from the past year. His narrative was peppered with various digressions, imitations of fellow politicians and critics, and eventually fielded questions from reporters.

The president delved into the achievements of his administration, beginning with an unusual presentation where he showcased photos of individuals he claimed were apprehended by immigration authorities in Minnesota.

“We’re going through this because I believe we have plenty of time,” he remarked.

This extensive address occurred amid rising global unease and domestic unrest. During the weekend, Trump unsettled the NATO alliance by threatening European tariffs to pursue his controversial idea of acquiring Greenland. Domestically, tensions rose as his administration prepared 1,500 active-duty troops for possible deployment to Minneapolis streets, following his warnings of invoking the Insurrection Act.

Tuesday’s news conference came just hours before Trump was set to head to Europe for a meeting with global leaders anxious to discuss his designs on Greenland, the new international peacemaking body he wants to form and a myriad of other global issues.

His fellow Republicans have been urging him to speak more to voters’ concerns about affordability as they stare down crucial midterm elections this year.

“One of the reasons I’m doing this news conference, I think it’s important — we have taken a mess and made it really good,” Trump said. “It’s going to get even better.”

Trump tosses stack of accomplishments

For more than 10 minutes, he showed off mugshots of people he said had been arrested, remarking on their alleged crimes. At one point, he asked the reporters in the room, “You’re not getting bored with this, right?”

Seeming to realize he was losing his audience, Trump told them they were lucky that he only went through “like 100” mugshots, then tossed the stack on the Briefing Room floor next to his lectern.

After futzing with a large binder clip, remarking on how it could have taken his finger off, he assured everyone, “I would not have shown the pain.” He threw the binder clip on the floor, too.

Not long after, he hoisted into the air a thick stack of paper with the word “Accomplishments” written in bold letters on top, a list he said would take him more than a week to read.

“It’s big stuff too. We have the hottest country in the world,” Trump said.

And then the president threw the accomplishments onto the floor, where they landed with a loud thud.

Trump has long said he is his best spokesman, dating back to his real estate days, when he was known for calling reporters to promote projects or pitch ideas. On Tuesday, he seemed to acknowledge that some of his economic arguments weren’t landing with voters.

“Maybe I have bad public relations people, but we’re not getting it across,” Trump said.

Hell’s Angels and other tangents

But as he touted accomplishments, he also went on some tangents.

In talking about immigration enforcement actions, Trump claimed that the immigrants his administration has removed from the U.S. make the Hell’s Angels “look like the sweetest people on Earth,” only to then pause and compliment the infamous motorcycle gang.

“I like the Hell’s Angels,” Trump said. “They voted for me. They protected me, actually.”

On his signing of an executive order “to bring back mental institutions and insane asylums,” Trump waxed nostalgic, telling a story of walking to Little League baseball with his mother, who told him a nearby psychiatric facility was home to “very sick people.”

The president also had a moment of reflection on the divine. Trump has suggested in the past that intervention from above brought him back into office and saved him from an assassination attempt. A reporter asked Tuesday if he believed God was proud of him.

“I do,” Trump said, giving a soft laugh. “I think God is very proud of the job I’ve done, and that includes for religion.”