President Trump attacked the United Nations with a complaint-filled speech that he accused the world of providing nothing but “the word of the sky,” labeling climate change as “fraud,” and warning that open borders risked destroying the nation.
In pursuit of unity, Trump began his speech to the UN General Assembly by venting his frustration that the UN had not done any more to support his diplomatic efforts. He denounced the organization on a broken escalator as first lady Melania Trump stepped into it, and said his teleprompter broke and counter-mined in two years ago grim against his rejected bid to renovate the UN headquarters.
“I never even received a call from the United Nations to end the seven wars, deal with leaders in these countries, and help them finalize the deal,” Trump said Tuesday. “These are two things I got from the United Nations: bad escalators and bad teleprompters. Thank you.”
Americans, used to the debate speeches of the US president, were very familiar with the address and ran for nearly an hour. However, foreign leaders who have not fallen into Trump’s attacks have witnessed combat leaders who have been praised for repeatedly violating unwritten UN protocols that they have not criticized other countries while piling up themselves with praise.
He was responsible for the green energy policy and the UK and Germany over Greece and Switzerland to allow immigration. He blows up Brazil for what he said was censorship and oppression. “Your country goes to hell,” he said.
Trump threw a humanitarian crackdown on immigrants as a humanitarian effort, as he prevented people from being able to stand the efforts to enter the United States.
“I’m not saying it in a way that boasts, but it’s true. I was right about everything,” he said.
In line with his past speeches, he has sidelined some of the United Nations’ most precious ideas, including his desire to fight climate change.
Trump’s much more aggressive approach ranked other members of the United Nations. He withdraws the United States from institutions such as UNESCO and the Human Rights Council, and leaves the World Health Organization, as he did in his first semester.
The United States has stopped everyone from paying UN bills to the UN, but since 2024, it has been arrears since it has been unpaid. He then held a much more restrictive visa policy, barring Palestinian authorities President Mahmoud Abbas at this week’s general meeting, barring the imposition of new restrictions on Iranian diplomats.
But Trump also showed a flash of his trademark humor. He announced from his speech that he would come across the country’s President Louise Inacio Lula da Silva, whom he has criticized several times.
“He looked like a really nice guy. In fact, he liked me, I liked him,” Trump said. “For at least about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry, which is a good sign.”
Trump reserved his most sharp attacks on immigration policies in other countries and UN support for asylum seekers. Trump accused the United Nations of “financing attacks on Western countries and their borders,” citing efforts to provide assistance to migrants.
“It is assumed that the UN will not stop aggression and raise funds rather than create them,” he said. And he cited long-standing complaints from Democrats and Republicans who often lamented that it was nothing more than a shop the UN spoke to.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “At least for now, what they seem to be doing is that they write a letter of really strong language and then never last that letter? It’s the words of the sky, and the words of the sky don’t solve war. It’s only action that solves war and war.”
The audience members sat almost silent, despite occasional moments of laughter and applause. And Trump’s comments about the teleprompter, whom he said he had started working again midway through his speech, drew a response from UN General Assembly President Annalena Bearbock after he left the stage.
“Excellent, we are being asked, so I want to assure you that don’t worry, that the UN teleprompters are fully functional,” she said.
For Bloomberg, written by Lucy, Wingrove and Drowhee. Magdalena Del Valle contributed to this report.
