Does President Obama have the guts to call Americans “lazy” to our faces? Or is he more brave to tear us down a half a world away?

The president twice called Americans “lazy” today as he addressed a group of young leaders in Laos.

“So usually, if you see the environment destroyed, it’s not because that’s necessary for development. It’s usually because we’re being lazy, and we’re not being as creative as we could be about how to do it in a smarter, sustainable way,” Obama said during a town hall meeting.

He also said, “And I believe that the United States is and can be a great force for good in the world. But because we’re such a big country, we haven’t always had to know about other parts of the world.

“If you are in Laos, you need to know about Thailand and China and Cambodia, because you’re a small country and they’re right next door and you need to know who they are,” Obama said.

“If you’re in the United States, sometimes you can feel lazy and think we’re so big, we don’t have to really know anything about other people,” he said.

“And that’s part of what I’m trying to change.”

Here’s video of the full event: