UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Regardless of political perspective, no one could argue that the presidency of Donald Trump — and his second term so far in particular — has been anything less than consequential, not only for the United States but for the world.
That hasn’t gone unremarked-upon at the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting of world leaders, to whom Trump spoke Tuesday. In marquee speeches and other settings, many of them have mentioned Trump and his policies, be it obliquely or directly.
Here’s a sampling of quotes by leaders and luminaries from around the world this past week at the United Nations talking about Trump and his administration — positive, negative and in between.
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FRANCE
“Guess what? I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you! … I would love this weekend to have a short discussion with Qatar and you on the situation in Gaza.”
— French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call to Trump after encountering a road closure because of the U.S. president’s motorcade
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CHINA
“A major cause of the current global economic doldrums is the rise in unilateral and protective measures, such as tariff hikes and erection of walls and barriers. We should collaborate more closely to identify and expand convergence of interests, promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and help each other succeed by moving forward in the same direction.”
— Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his General Assembly speech
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ARGENTINA
“President Trump of the United States also understands that the time has come to reverse a dynamic that is leading the United States towards a disaster, and we know that a disaster in the United States is a global disaster. His unflinching and successful policy in terms of halting illegal immigration makes that conviction more than clear. … What Donald Trump is also doing is restructuring the terms of international trade in unprecedented fashion. … Furthermore, he’s instituting a cleanup of the institutional capture of the American state.”
— Argentine President Javier Milei in his General Assembly speech
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BOLIVIA
“We have a third cause of the current wars, which is more immediate. That is the obsessive zeal of the new Trump administration to give the United States back its position as a hegemonic power, at the cost of the liberal system, free trade, globalization, and to cause pain and death. For what? To take ownership over natural resources, to take control over commodities for the benefit of an imperial system, and to subordinate the majority of countries for their insatiable thirst for privilege and wealth, and to try to maintain a unipolar order at any cost.”
— Bolivian President Luis Arce in his General Assembly speech
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UKRAINE
“Yesterday, we had a good meeting with President Trump, and I also spoke with many other strong leaders, and together, we can change a lot.”
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his General Assembly speech.
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RUSSIA
“In the approaches of the current U.S. administration, we see a desire not only to contribute to ways to realistically resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but also a desire to develop pragmatic cooperation without adopting an ideological stance.”
— Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his General Assembly speech.
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INDIA
“If climate action itself is questioned, what hope is there for climate justice?”
— Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
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ARMENIA
“The role of United States President Donald Trump is decisive in this (Armenia-Azerbaijan) peace process, whose dedication, consistency and principledness made possible what seemed to be impossible.”
— Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his General Assembly speech. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also thanked Trump for his role in the peace initiative and “for opening a new chapter in the U.S.-Azerbaijan relationship.
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CAMBODIA
“We are grateful that a ceasefire (with Thailand), brokered by U.S. President Trump, effectively halted armed clashes…. However, the ceasefire remains very fragile.”
— Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sokhonn Prak in his General Assembly speech. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow also saluted “President Trump’s strong dedication to peace” while calling the ceasefire “fragile.”
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SLOVENIA
“States are withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, from the Ottawa treaty and from U.N. agencies, or simply cutting their financing. Each such act chips away at the support for multilateralism, a system designed not for the powerful few, but for the benefit of us all.”
— President Nataša Pirc Musar of Slovenia in her General Assembly speech. (The U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris accord and from multiple U.N. agencies. The U.S. never signed onto the Ottawa Convention against antipersonnel land mines; some other countries are withdrawing from it.)
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BELARUS
“The actions of the United States of America to reduce its support to the U.N., which has already caused plans to cut staff in our organization, are a very unpleasant wake-up call. But you’ll have to agree that if the U.N. is able to be an impartial forum and move with the times, it will be in demand by everyone.”
— Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov of Belarus in his General Assembly speech
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CONGO
“I applaud, in this regard (the Congo-Rwanda peace deal ) the leadership of President Donald Trump.”
— President Felix Tshisekedi of Congo in his General Assembly speech. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe also credited “strong leadership” from Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
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HAITI
“I also must thank President Trump’s administration for the efforts made to bring support and resources to our common fight against gangs, the enemies who threaten both Haiti and the whole region.”
— Laurent Saint-Cyr, head of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, in his General Assembly speech
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SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
“We recognize the serious threats posed by drug trafficking and other transnational crimes. These scourges must be addressed through cooperation, dialogue respect for sovereignty and the full respect for the principles of international law….We encourage dialogue between our two friends — the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States of America — to ensure that our region remains a zone of peace.”
— Prime Minister Terrance Drew of Saint Kitts and Nevis
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COLOMBIA
“Was it really necessary to bomb unarmed, poor young people in the Caribbean? The anti-drug policy is not meant to stop cocaine that is coming to the United States. The anti-drug policy is to dominate the peoples of the South as a whole…. And there should be criminal cases against those officials of the United States for doing this, including the the utmost official, President Trump, who allowed the shooting of missiles against these young people who were simply trying to escape poverty.”
— Colombian President Gustavo Petro in his General Assembly speech
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SOUTH KOREA
“It would be fantastic if (Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) met with each other in the near future. And (South Korean) President Lee Jae Myung made it clear to President Trump that he will not be sitting in the driver’s seat. He asked President Trump to become a peacemaker, and he relegated himself to become a pacemaker. We don’t mind. On the contrary, we want President Trump to exercise his leadership to pull North Korea to dialogue table.”
— South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, in an interview with the Associated Press
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IRELAND
“I call on those who have provided — and who continue to provide — Israel with the means necessary to prosecute its war (in Gaza) to reflect carefully on the implications of their actions and the consequences for the Palestinian people.”
— Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in his General Assembly speech
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ISRAEL
“Thankfully, President Trump’s administration is forcefully fighting the scourge of antisemitism, and every government here should follow its lead.”
— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his General Assembly speech
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PALESTINIANS
“We are ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France and the United Nations to implement (a proposal for settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict).”
— Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in his video speech to the General Assembly
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BRAZIL
“I think that indeed there was some chemistry there…. I’m going to treat him with the respect that he deserves as the president of the U.S., and he’s going to treat me with the respect that the president of the Federal Republic of Brazil deserves.”
— Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at a press conference at U.N. headquarters after he and Trump crossed paths in the General Assembly hall.
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