James M. Lindsay
Six years after last speaking to the UN General Assembly, President Donald Trump took full advantage of his return to Turtle Bay today. Asked to speak for fifteen minutes, he addressed the gathering of world leaders for nearly an hour. Rather than sketching a vision of how the world might cooperate to meet the challenges it faces, Trump touted his accomplishments and aired his grievances. The result likely thrilled his supporters just as it antagonized his critics.
Much of Trump’s speech was familiar to anyone who has watched a MAGA rally. He frequently went off script. He boasted of his domestic policy successes, complained that he had been overlooked for the Nobel Prize, and bragged that the United States is “the hottest country in the world.” Former President Joe Biden served as a punching bag throughout the speech. Trump mentioned his predecessor directly or indirectly nine times, accusing him of leading “the most corrupt, incompetent administration in history.”
Biden was not the only target of Trump’s barbs. The United Nations was as well. Some of his complaints were minor: a broken escalator on his way to the speech and a malfunctioning teleprompter once he reached the dais. Some were historical: he lamented losing a contract decades ago to renovate UN headquarters and claimed he would have done a far better job than the winning contractor and would have given the building marble rather than terrazzo floors. And some were substantive: he argued that the United Nations is failing to live up to its “tremendous potential.” Anyone familiar with the United Nations sympathized when he dismissed its penchant for a “strongly worded letter” and “empty words” in place of effective action. He offered no practical solutions, however, for improving the organization’s operations.
Immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet. Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast because of their policies on these two subjects. You need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again.
Trump did not sugarcoat his case. He called “the crisis of uncontrolled migration” the “number one political issue of our time.” He argued that Europe is being “invaded” by migrants and that as the result of the failed experiment with open borders, “your countries are going to hell.” Likewise, he warned his fellow leaders that “if you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
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