NEW YORK — President Donald Trump used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly’s session on Tuesday in New York City to criticize the international organization’s focus on migrants and climate change as ineffective.
Trump complained about the sudden stop of an escalator after he arrived at the UN headquarters in Manhattan with First Lady Melania Trump, and about the teleprompter “not working” at the main assembly hall.
“I’ve come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous world, but to get there, we must reject the failed approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest threats in history,” Trump said.
Trump criticized efforts to shift away from carbon-based energy driven by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement.
“The entire globalist concept of asking successful industrialized nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies must be rejected completely and totally -- and it must be immediate,” Trump said.
Trump described windmills as “pathetic” and the carbon footprint as “a hoax” and blamed China for producing “more CO2 than all the other developed nations in the world.”
As he described his domestic accomplishments, Trump criticized the U.N.’s aid to refugees.
“The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,” Trump said.
Trump urged other world leaders to adopt his approach to immigration law enforcement and said Europe was “invaded by a force” of undocumented migrants.
“You are destroying your countries. I can tell you, I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell,” Trump said.
Trump thanked El Salvador for receiving and jailing inmates. He also sent a message to narcotraffickers saying the U.S. will “blow you out of existence.”
Trump criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries and proposed the use of “very strict tariffs” to end the Russia-Ukraine war that would only work if Europe also imposed them.
“They are buying oil and gas from Russia when they are fighting Russia,” Trump said.
Trump said his administration has ended seven wars without any help from the U.N. and said that recognizing Palestinian statehood would be a reward for Hamas. He also described Iran as “the world’s number one sponsor of terror.”
Trump shares memory as developer
The president said that when he was a real estate developer he bid to rebuild the U.N. for $500 million, but the leaders decided to go in another direction.
“They spent between $2 and $4 billion and did not even get the marble floors I promised them,” Trump said.
Watch Trump’s speech
Amid concerns about U.S. cuts to funding of the UN, Trump met with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and said he still supports the U.N.’s potential.
Watch U.N.G.A. live stream
Complete coverage
- Secret Service dismantles telecom threat around UN capable of crippling cell service in NYC
- At UN, world leaders meet to try to make a troubled planet ‘better together.’ But can they?
- Unversed in UNGA? Here’s your handy guide to UN General Assembly meeting lingo
- How a SIM farm like the one found near the UN threatens telecom networks
- ‘Everything’s frozen for you’: Stopped on the street by NYC police, France’s Macron calls ... Trump
- Russia and Ukraine fire drones, missiles and bombs as Zelenskyy seeks help at UN
Middle East
- Iran’s supreme leader rejects direct talks with US over his country’s nuclear program
- As Western nations recognize Palestinian statehood, Palestinians doubt its impact
- Israel destroys evacuated health center in Gaza City, medics say
- More experts are calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. But others note that’s a court’s call
U.S. relations
- US and China ‘talking past each other’ on key issues, says US lawmaker visiting Beijing
- Spanish: Trump recibe a Milei para mostrarle su apoyo en el momento más delicado del gobierno argentino
Trump administration
- Trump cancels White House meeting with Schumer and Jeffries despite risk of a government shutdown
- Tylenol maker rebounds a day after Trump’s unfounded claims about its safety
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
