Compiled from news service reports
In his first address to the U.N. General Assembly since 2020, President Donald Trump said global migration and climate agendas are hurting Western societies and economies.
The president touched on a wide variety of topics in the address at the U.N., including the following.
Trump Denounces Globalism
Trump focused new criticism on globalism, which he described as a concept that compels successful developed nations to hurt themselves.
Trump said the “globalist migration agenda” has resulted in the mass trafficking of children across international borders.
Globalism has placed a larger burden on developed nations to reduce their impact on the environment, he said, while other nations continue to pollute heavily.
Trump noted data showing that the United States, where air conditioning systems are relatively common, records around 1,300 heat-related deaths annually. By contrast, he noted there are around 175,000 heat-related deaths annually across Europe, where air conditioning systems are uncommon.
“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.
Touts Domestic Achievements
Trump told those gathered at the United Nations that he built the “greatest economy in the history of the world” during his first term and that he’s doing “the same thing again” in his second term.
“This is indeed the golden age of America. We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration,” Trump said.
The president cited a decrease in costs, including gasoline, groceries, mortgage rates and inflation.
“The only thing that’s up is the stock market, which just hit a record high,” he said.
Trump also said that manufacturing is “booming” and wages are “rising at the fastest pace in more than 60 years.”
Touts Peace Deals
Trump claimed credit for ending seven wars, and with little to no help from the international body.
“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal,” Trump said. “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle.”
In all, Trump said his administration was critical in brokering deals to end armed conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand; Kosovo and Serbia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pakistan and India; Israel and Iran; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential, but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential for the most part,” Trump said.
“At least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war.”
Trump Meets with Zelenskyy After UN Speech
Trump spoke on whether the United States would back up a NATO ally that shot down a Russian aircraft in its airspace. He said it would “depend” on the circumstances.
The president made his remarks sitting alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday. The bilateral meeting followed Trump’s remarks to the U.N. General Assembly.
Trump said that he has “great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up. It’s pretty amazing, actually.”
Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his efforts to support Ukraine during the war, adding, “Of course, we want to solve the war.”
Trump Says He’ll Talk with NATO Allies About Cutting Off Energy Purchases from Russia
As he spoke to the United Nations about his efforts to negotiate an end to multiple conflicts around the world, Trump noted that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine remains elusive. Further, he expressed frustration that many NATO allies remain economically tied to Russia.
“Inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products,” Trump said.
The U.S. president said he stands ready to impose harsh new tariffs targeting Russia if he decides Moscow isn’t ready to make a deal to end the more than three-year conflict.
Calls for End to Biological, Nuclear Weapon Development
Trump asked world leaders to stop developing biological and nuclear weapons.
“I look at weapons that are so powerful that we just can’t ever use them,” Trump said. “If we ever use them, the world literally might come to an end.”
A verification system powered by artificial intelligence, currently under development, could offer some protection from advanced weapons systems, he said.
“Let’s see how good it is, because a lot of people are saying it could be one of the great things ever, but [it could] also be dangerous, but it can be put to tremendous use and tremendous good.”
He urged the leaders to prioritize peace to ensure the future of the organization and humanity.
“There would be no United Nations to be talking about. There would be no nothing,” Trump said.
He alluded to COVID-19 and the origins of the contagion as a precautionary tale.
“Just a few years ago, reckless experiments overseas gave us a devastating global pandemic,” Trump said, noting that some nations are still researching and developing pathogens and other biological weapons.
Trump Urges Countries to Take Strict Stance on Illegal Immigration
Trump called out the United Nations for “funding an assault on Western countries” by offering cash support, food, shelter, and other assistance to migrants.
Trump said that Europe is in “serious trouble.”
“They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe,” he said.
The president went on to say that the current system is unsustainable.
“And because they choose to be politically correct, they’re doing just absolutely nothing about it,” Trump said. “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now.”
Trump underscored the United States’ efforts to control illegal immigration, referencing nearly 30,000 children who have been sent back to their families.
“We’ve been sending them back to their parents,” Trump said of minors who crossed the border illegally. He said that in many cases, the children were not with a family member, and their parents were elated to have their child returned to them.
“Any system that results in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil, yet that is exactly what the globalist migration agenda has done.”
Trump: Immigration and Green Energy Are ‘Destroying’ the Free World
Trump ended his comments to the United Nations, saying that “Immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world.”
The president recapped the main themes of his address, saying that strong borders and traditional energy sources are necessary for the strength of nations, regardless of location.
“From London to Lima, from Rome to Athens, from Paris to Seoul, from Cairo to Tokyo, and Amsterdam to right here in New York City, we stand on the shoulders of the leaders and legends, generals and giants, heroes and titans, who won and built our beloved nations. … They were champions for their people who never gave up and who never, ever gave in,” Trump said.
The president encouraged his fellow world leaders, saying each was entrusted with the “righteous task of protecting the nations that they built.”
Expresses Support for UN
Trump spoke with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres shortly after addressing the U.N. General Assembly.
The president said, “Our country is behind the United Nations 100%,” and said he believes the potential of the U.N. is “incredible.”
“It can do so much. I’m behind it. I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it. … The potential for peace with this institution is so great,” he said.
Guterres called the United States “essential” to the U.N. He lauded Trump’s work toward peace, saying, “We are entirely at your disposal to work together toward a just peace.”
Ryan Morgan, Savannah Hulsey Pointer and Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.