By Palang Paul
United States President Donald Trump used his return to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to sharply criticize the world body, accusing it of failing in its mission of promoting peace while fostering mass migration that he described as an “assault” on Western countries.
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York in his first address since his White House comeback, Trump mocked the organization as ineffective, claiming it had become a forum of “empty words” incapable of solving wars. “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” he asked. “All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter.”
The 79-year-old Republican leader also lashed out at international efforts to curb climate change, dismissing them as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
Trump, who has long been critical of the UN, even complained about faulty facilities at the headquarters, quipping that the only things he had ever received from the body were “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
On foreign policy, the president touted his claim of winding down several conflicts but acknowledged no progress in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the ongoing Israel–Gaza war following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. He condemned the recognition of a Palestinian state by some U.S. allies, calling it a “reward” to Hamas, and demanded the release of Israeli hostages.
Turning to energy politics, Trump criticized European allies, China, and India for continuing to purchase Russian oil, though he refrained from directly castigating Moscow, saying only that the U.S. was “ready” to impose new sanctions.
Immigration, however, drew his fiercest language. He accused the UN of “funding an assault on Western nations” through its support of migration programs. “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders,” he declared, adding, “Your countries are going to hell.” He also targeted London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital.
The remarks highlight Trump’s increasingly nationalist tone since returning to office. He has already pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization and the UN climate pact, while slashing development aid and threatening sanctions on international judges.
In his opening speech at the same summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a veiled rebuke, warning that U.S.-led aid cuts were “wreaking havoc” across the globe. “What kind of world will we choose? A world of raw power or a world of laws?” he asked.
Trump is expected to hold meetings this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Argentine President Javier Milei, a close ideological ally. His upcoming talks with Zelensky follow his recent Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which eased Moscow’s diplomatic isolation but failed to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities revealed they had disrupted a telecommunications-related plot involving more than 100,000 weaponized SIM cards allegedly designed to cripple communications around the UN summit. Officials said “nation-state threat actors” were behind the foiled attempt.
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