Trump tears into U.N., U.S. allies in blistering speech at annual gathering

UNITED NATIONS — President Trump tore into the United Nations on Tuesday for doing nothing to help him end decades-old global conflicts and told delegates in a scathing speech that the organization devoted to world peace is so useless and ineffective that it can’t even get its teleprompters and escalators to work.

In a 56-minute speech that blew past his 15-minute allotted time, Mr. Trump spared few in the room. He told allies and adversaries alike that they are doing a poor job of running their countries and should shape up if they want to continue doing business with the U.S.

“I’m really good at this stuff,” Mr. Trump said at the gathering of the U.N. General Assembly. “Your countries are going to hell.”

Mr. Trump took European leaders to task for continuing to buy Russian oil while condemning Moscow’s war on Ukraine. He said Brazil, whose administration had prosecuted a Trump ally, was doing “poorly.” He hammered other countries’ immigration and green energy policies and insulted the mayor of London.

The president told European allies that recognizing a Palestinian state was rewarding Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.

Mr. Trump reserved his most blistering attacks for the United Nations itself and even questioned whether it should exist.

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Mr. Trump asked.

At times, he openly mocked the organization by saying it doesn’t do much beyond “writing a really strongly worded letter.” He used mechanical failures at the U.N. headquarters Tuesday — an escalator that stopped running just as he and first lady Melania Trump stepped onto it and a teleprompter that malfunctioned at the start of his speech — as analogies for what he sees as incompetence.

“These are two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” Mr. Trump said.

He ticked off a list of seven wars he said he had resolved and asked why the United Nations didn’t do more to end the conflicts. He said he didn’t even get a phone call.

“It’s too bad I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them and, sadly, in all cases, the United Nations didn’t even try to help,” Mr. Trump said. “The United Nations wasn’t there for us.”

He zeroed in on U.N. support for international migration and efforts to fight climate change. The United Nations funds an international migration system that provides support and shelter to migrants and refugees worldwide and advocates for an effective asylum system to protect those fleeing hardship.

He said immigration was ruining other Western countries.

“The U.N. is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out. The U.N. also provided food, shelter, transportation and debit cards to illegal aliens,” he said.

The president read off a list of dire climate predictions from decades ago and said none had come to pass. He called climate change “the greatest con job in history.”

The General Assembly audience sat largely silent while Mr. Trump harangued them, but his talk about climate change and migration drew a few murmurs.

Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has made clear his disdain for the United Nations. He has pulled the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council, clawed back $1 billion in funding to the United Nations and told Congress he plans to rescind another $1 billion, contributing to a funding shortfall at the organization. He also ordered a review of America’s role in the organization.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the General Assembly by saying the cuts were “wreaking havoc” with efforts to provide humanitarian aid and other services.

“They are a death sentence for many. For so many more: a stolen future,” he said.

Mr. Trump softened his stance during a meeting later with Mr. Guterres. He said the United Nations had “great potential” and the U.S. was “100%” behind it.

The president’s address was the marquee event of the U.N. General Assembly, a weeklong summit at its New York headquarters where world leaders come together to discuss critical global issues.

As he aired his grievances, Mr. Trump made time to discuss policy. He announced an effort to end the development of biological and nuclear weapons by using artificial intelligence verification. He offered few details about the initiative.

After his address in the main hall, he spent the day meeting with roughly 30 other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and several Middle Eastern leaders.

He met with the leaders of the predominantly Arab or Muslim nations at a critical time for Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel has escalated its offensive into Gaza City, and the United Nations has launched an inquiry into whether the excursion amounts to genocide.

The Arab countries have offered proposals to rebuild Gaza as the center of a future Palestinian state. Some of America’s closest allies, including France, Australia, Britain and Canada, now recognize “Palestine” as a state. During his speech, Mr. Trump said the move impedes peace.

Mr. Trump told the countries recognizing a Palestinian state that they should instead unite around pressuring Hamas to release its hostages.

After meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump shifted his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. He said he believed Kyiv could regain the territory it had lost to Russia and win the war.

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he said in a post on Truth Social.