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President Donald Trump delivered a blistering address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, accusing the body of failing to solve global conflicts, dismissing international climate efforts as a “con job,” and warning U.S. allies that they risk collapse without Washington’s leadership.
“All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter,” Trump said, charging that the institution produces “empty words” that “don’t solve war.” He contrasted the UN’s record with his own claims of peacemaking, even as ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine continue to vex his administration.
The president ridiculed climate change agreements as harmful to industrialized nations while allowing developing economies to “defy the rules.” He accused Europe of destroying itself with green energy projects and insisted that only U.S. strength could guide the world forward. “Your countries are going to hell,” he told assembled leaders.
Despite the combative tone, Trump insisted the UN “has tremendous potential” and extended “the hand of American leadership and friendship” to countries willing to join him in “forging a safer, more prosperous world.”
The speech came amid heightened tensions with U.S. allies after France, the U.K., Canada, and Australia recognized a Palestinian state. Trump said such recognition amounted to “a reward for Hamas” and demanded the release of Israeli hostages. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that “any future resolution of this matter with Israel is going to have to be negotiated” and not dictated by other nations.
Inside the hall, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and others listened as Trump criticized European governments for continuing to buy Russian oil. “They have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia; otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time,” he said.
The president also touted his record, claiming to have helped end seven conflicts in seven months, while lamenting that “the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents.” He mocked the UN’s failure to support his initiatives, joking that “all I got … was an escalator that stopped in the middle and a teleprompter that didn’t work.”
Trump’s trade agenda featured prominently, with new tariffs on both adversaries and allies, including India. He announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, describing tariffs as retaliatory but necessary. “We are hitting them back,” he said of Brazil, even as he praised his “excellent chemistry” with Lula.
Despite expressing “deep disappointment” in Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said he remained committed to brokering peace in Ukraine. Rubio warned, however, that harsher U.S. sanctions could undermine Washington’s ability to act as a mediator.
The address underscored Trump’s signature mix of nationalism and unilateralism — echoing his 2018 UN remarks when he rejected “the ideology of globalism.” But this time, he claimed, America was open to partnership — if others would accept U.S. terms.
