President Trump warned that countries are going to “hell” if they embrace the green energy transition and fail to clamp down on irregular migration, in a long and highly combative speech that questioned the purpose of the United Nations during its 80th annual gathering.
Trump followed through on what the White House previewed as “tough talk” to the global body, in a speech that lasted nearly an hour, the longest U.N. address of any U.S. president ever.
“Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe if something is not done immediately,” Trump said, making an argument for closed borders and unfettered energy exploitation.
“Time to end the failed experiment of open borders. End it now. I can tell you — I’m really good at this stuff — your countries are going to hell,” he added later.
Trump also hit on many of his favorite domestic themes, touting his deployment of the national guard to Washington, D.C., tax cuts and global tariffs.
Here are five takeaways from Trump’s first U.N. appearance in his second term:
‘The United Nations wasn’t there for us’
Trump attacked the U.N. as an irrelevant body that has failed in its mission to ensure global security and stability, a criticism that diplomats and U.N. officials acknowledge but argue requires renewed commitments and engagement rather than withdrawal.
“All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war,” Trump lashed out at the body.
The president also touted his role in helping to broker ceasefires in several conflicts, claiming the U.N. had not offered assistance with his efforts.
“Later I realized that the United Nations wasn’t there for us. I thought of it, really, after the fact. … That being the case, what is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked.
While Trump has ended U.S. participation in some U.N. bodies and cut all foreign aid that helped fund humanitarian initiatives, the president told U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres that the U.S. “is behind the United Nations 100 percent” during a bilateral meeting later in the day.
Deflects blame for stalled Gaza, Ukraine talks
Trump acknowledged the challenge he’s faced in trying to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip — but blamed other countries for setting back his efforts on both fronts.
Trump said the U.S. was prepared to impose a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” on Russia but said it would be ineffective unless Europe stopped importing oil from Moscow – a trade he claimed he only became aware of two weeks ago.
“Europe has to step it up,” he said, adding later, “They have to cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time.”
Trump said he was “deeply engaged in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza,” even as he gives a tacit green light to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand his war in the Gaza Strip. He also criticized the majority of member states for recognizing a Palestinian state before the end of the war.
“We can’t forget Oct. 7, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some in this body seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities.”
Calls climate change ‘greatest con job ever perpetrated’
Trump reserved some of his most aggressive remarks in rejecting global efforts to rein in fossil fuel use and promote renewable, clean energy. He called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and repeated his contempt for wind power as “pathetic and so bad.”
“You’re supposed to make money with energy, not lose money,” he said.
“’All green’ is ‘all bankrupt.’ That’s what it represents, and it’s not politically correct. I’ll be very badly criticized for saying it, but I’m here to tell the truth.”
His remarks stood in contrast to Guterres, who warned the plenary that “the climate crisis is accelerating.”
“The clean energy future is not a distant promise, it’s already here. No government, industry or special interest may stop it,” Guterres said.
Countries ‘going to hell’ because of migration
Trump painted a dystopian picture as he framed illegal immigration a threat to the history and culture of countries.
“Proud nations must be allowed to protect their communities and prevent their societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before, with different customs, religions — with different everything,” he said.
Trump called immigration and green energy a “double-tailed monster” that “destroys everything in its wake.” In response to this threat, he pushed an idea of isolationism rather than compassion for people fleeing war, poverty and crime – saying the U.N. should help countries achieve stability so people are not fleeing elsewhere.
“We have to solve the problem, and we have to solve it in their countries, not create new problems in our countries,” he said.
Moments of levity amid the aggression
Trump was able to trigger some laughter from what was largely a stone-faced audience, calling out a technical difficulty with the teleprompter early on in his speech and a broken escalator.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” he said.
It was a rare moment of levity in a speech that was largely aggressive. Trump singled out for criticism Germany (for its past focus on green energy and migration), China and India (primary funders of Russia’s war in Ukraine) and Venezuela (saying President Nicolás Maduro directs “terrorists and drug traffickers).
Members of the Brazilian delegation were seen scrambling to attach their translation earpieces as Trump turned his attention to them, saying his tariffs are aimed at punishing other countries’ domestic policies. But he briefly switched to flattery, describing “excellent chemistry” in meeting Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a “39-second embrace” after Lula’s speech.
“It’s a good sign,” Trump said, but then added, “But also in the past, Brazil — can you believe this? — unfairly tariffed our nation.”
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