President Trump plans to address the 80th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly Tuesday morning, laying out his vision for how America should wield — or decline to wield — its power abroad.
In the speech, Mr. Trump plans to target “globalist institutions” that have “significantly decayed the world order,” said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. “He will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” she said.
Since retaking office, Mr. Trump has made dramatic changes to America’s approach to foreign policy.
He has largely eschewed the use of nonmilitary “soft power,” severely cutting foreign aid and dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. He has declined to pay for more aid to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion or try to put any limits on Israel’s broadened military campaign in Gaza. And he has told strongmen leaders of other countries that the United States would no longer sit in judgment of them.
Several close U.S. allies issued this week what amounted to a reprimand of his go-it-alone vision, joining most of the U.N. body in recognizing Palestine as a state and risking the ire of the president, who has adamantly opposed such a move.
The president, for his part, has made it clear he wants little to do with much of the U.N. mandate. He has withdrawn the United States from the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, and ordered a review of America’s role in the organization. The Trump administration clawed back $1 billion in funding for the U.N. and informed Congress of its intent to slash another $1 billion, adding to a funding shortfall at the United Nations.
But at the same time, Mr. Trump has inserted America into peace negotiations in conflicts across the globe, including the war in Gaza. The president has also shown a willingness to use a quick show of force, as he did when he ordered airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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The post Trump to Address U.N. as He Jettisons Aid and Recasts U.S. Role appeared first on New York Times.
