Trump Slams UN in Fiery General Assembly Speech
In his first address to the UN General Assembly since returning to the White House, Donald Trump delivered a scathing critique of the global body, accusing it of failing to support his efforts to broker peace deals in Gaza and Ukraine.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked during his nearly hour-long speech. “It has such tremendous potential, but it’s not even coming close to living up to that.”
Unlike his 2018 UN debut, which drew laughter from world leaders, this time Trump’s sharp rebuke of the UN and US allies was met with near-total silence. The 79-year-old also mocked the organization over technical issues, quipping: “These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaking separately, warned against “anti-democratic forces” after an alleged coup plot linked to his predecessor, who enjoys Trump’s backing. Despite differences, Trump revealed he and Lula exchanged a hug and agreed to meet next week.
Trump is also set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the second time since his August summit in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin—a meeting that ended Moscow’s diplomatic isolation but produced no breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the US Secret Service announced it had foiled a plot involving “nation-state threat actors” aimed at disrupting telecommunications around the UN ahead of Trump’s speech.
