Last February, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, attended the Munich Security Conference and surprised friends and allies with a brutal critique, almost a complete amendment against European democracies, stating that the continent's greatest threat does not come from Russia and China, but "from within." The international community expected a message of support and a commitment to protection, but instead found the opposite: the world's leading power lashing out against its values and censoring its positions on migration or freedom of expression. Seven months later, the President of the same country, Donald Trump,, has done something very similar, but from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly. Those former friends and allies no longer expected anything positive, after all that was seen in 2025, but even by Trump's standards, he has surprised many by saying that "European countries are going to hell", "destroyed by the two-headed monster" of migration policies, the fight against climate change, and being "politically correct."
Trump was allotted 15 minutes, but spoke for 58. His intervention had very little, almost nothing to do with the UN or the international system, although he mentioned that what happened yesterday, the recognition of Palestine by a good number of countries, "is a prize for Hamas" and a huge mistake. He also acknowledged that he thought "the war in Ukraine was going to be the easiest to end due to his good relationship with Putin," but it has not been the case.
In reality, the speech was the same as he repeats every day everywhere - the White House, conferences, press conferences, or the U.S. Congress: a mix of political rally about his alleged economic and diplomatic merits, combined with insults to his Democratic predecessors, harangues against illegal immigration or his enemies (from Iran to Venezuela), personal grievances (for not having the Nobel Peace Prize or the recognition he believes he deserves), and references to his personal obsessions, such as green energy, windmills, or the fact that decades ago, when he was only a real estate developer, the UN ignored his proposal to renovate the headquarters for $500 million.
But today, what mattered was not only what was said, but how and where. The president's team had promised a speech calling for renewal and reform and change from within the United Nations, but in practice, there was none of that. The President of the United States does not believe in international cooperation or global institutions, but surprisingly, the UN has never been the target of his deepest criticisms. "The UN has enormous potential, I have always said that. It has enormous potential, but it doesn't even come close to reaching it. They just write very strong letters and then don't follow up. They are empty words, and empty words do not resolve war. The only thing that resolves war and wars is action," he said on Tuesday before the King of Spain, President Pedro Sánchez, and other international leaders.
Trump arrived eager for the meeting. His teleprompter to read the speech was not working, just like the escalator that was supposed to take him to the room with his wife. He took the opportunity to say that "all the UN has to offer him" are broken things, something that would not have happened if they had entrusted him with the remodeling works at the time.
Then came the storm. Trump lectured European countries, while the cameras focused on Ursula von der Leyen or António Costa, top European figures, for continuing to buy oil from Russia and not imposing 100% sanctions on India and China, as Washington now demands. He repeatedly criticized immigration, saying that Europe "is invaded and destroyed," that "sharia" is spreading through the streets of London.
"They have been invaded by a force of illegal immigrants like never before seen. Illegal immigrants are arriving in Europe in masses. No one is doing anything to change it, to expel them. It is not sustainable, and, as they choose to be politically correct, they do absolutely nothing about it. I look at London, where they have a terrible, terrible mayor, and now they want to adopt sharia law. Both immigration and their suicidal ideas will be the death of Western Europe. If nothing is done immediately, this cannot be sustained," he asserted. "What makes the world so beautiful is that every country is unique, but for it to remain so, every sovereign nation must have the right to control its own borders. Proud nations must be able to protect their communities and prevent their societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before," he added.
The President, deviating from what was written, spent more than 15 minutes on the issue, citing nationalities in prisons in Germany or Switzerland and talking about mass rapes and crime while boasting about his policies at home. He did the same with another of his fetishes: renewable energies. The President cannot stand the sight of solar panels and wind farms. It is personal, especially in his golf courses in Scotland, and he has turned that hatred into a policy. "Green policy is a scam, a huge scam," he has said repeatedly.
"If you do not get rid of this green scam, your countries will fail, and I am very good at predicting things. During the election campaign, my best-selling cap was the one that said 'Trump was right about everything.' And I don't say it with presumption, but it's true. I have been right about everything. And I tell you that if you do not get rid of the green energy scam, you will fail. And if you do not stop people you have never seen before, with whom you have nothing in common, your countries will fail. I am the President of the United States, but I am concerned about Europe. I love Europe. I love the people of Europe and I hate to see it devastated by energy and immigration. This two-headed monster destroys everything in its path," he concluded.
Shortly after, however, after meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he reiterated his "100% support for the UN" and stated that it does "a fantastic job of peacekeeping."
The theme of this 80th session of the General Assembly calls for 80 more years together and a "global commitment to multilateralism, solidarity, and shared action," but Trump's message went in the opposite direction, denouncing "how global institutions have significantly deteriorated the world order," in the words of the White House spokesperson. Trump took the floor just after Brazilian Lula da Silva addressed the room and joked about it, saying they crossed paths, greeted each other, and agreed to meet soon. Lula had used his speech to denounce that "there is a clear parallel between the crisis of multilateralism and the weakening of democracy. Authoritarianism strengthens when we do not act against arbitrary acts, when the international society falters in defending peace, sovereignty, and the rule of law. The consequences are tragic," he warned.
In 2018, in his first address to the General Assembly, Trump already outlined what would be the distinctive features and obsessions of his Government. He said that his Administration had "accomplished more than almost any other administration in the history of our country," bitterly complained about how poorly the rest of the planet had treated the United States in trade matters, criticized China and its violations of WTO rules, and emphasized his "rejection of globalism ideology and our support for patriotism worldwide."
On that occasion, many delegations couldn't contain their laughter during his speech, sometimes bursting into laughter, like when he referred to Saudi Arabia as a "beacon" of progress and reforms or praised the leader of North Korea. The audience couldn't quite believe what they were hearing, despite warnings that Washington would significantly reduce its economic contributions to peacekeeping operations. Today, almost no one laughs at the exaggerations about the strength he attributes to his country, the investment figures he mentioned, his claims about the unparalleled respect he believes his country receives from the entire planet, or the fantasy that he has ended seven wars in seven months since returning to power and thought that the Ukraine war would be the easiest of all.
The American withdrawal is an opportunity for many other countries. The New York Times reports this week on how countries like China and Cuba have proposed limiting investigations into torture allegations, war crimes, and the imprisonment of dissidents to save money. At the same time, other countries are offering to host agencies or even permanent headquarters if, to save costs, the UN were to leave expensive cities like New York and Geneva. Qatar, without a hint of irony, is volunteering to host some of the labor rights agency offices. Rwanda is interested in hosting a long-term UN campus. Russia has proposed reducing the intervention time of human rights defense groups to save money on hearings and translators. And China is taking advantage to try to secure the leadership of all the less glamorous but very technical and important committees, agencies, and departments for its long-term interests, from satellites to AI.
Perhaps the only reference in nearly 60 minutes to multilateral commitments was when the US president stated that his Administration "will lead an international effort to enforce the convention on biological weapons" and will meet with world leaders to "pioneer a trustworthy artificial intelligence verification system," something the UN will address this Thursday on the sidelines of the Assembly.