In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump criticised it as a feckless organisation, lauding the direction America has taken under his leadership while warning that Europe will be destroyed if it doesn’t turn away from the “double-tailed monster” of misguided green energy and migration policies.
Trump’s speech at the UNGA 2025, which lasted almost an hour, was both self-congratulatory and full of grievances. He used the occasion to praise his accomplishments during his second term and to complain that some of his fellow world leaders’ nations were “going to hell.”
Trump criticises U.N.
The speech served as a reminder to both US allies and adversaries that the country has reverted to an unapologetic “America First” stance with a hostile attitude towards the UN following a four-year break under the more internationalist President Joe Biden. Trump also blasted the body harshly for its inaction, claiming that it was full of “empty words” that “don’t solve wars.”
“What is the purpose of the United Nations? 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,” he said.
Trump then tried to allay some diplomats’ fears by telling the senior U.N. official that, despite his earlier criticism, the United States was still “100%: in favour of the international body.
Trump told Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it because the potential for peace at this institution is great.”
After Trump presented a series of startling contrasts in his speech to the crowd, it was yet another U-turn.
US president lauds himself and his administration
He praised himself as a peacemaker and listed the accomplishments of his administration’s work in several global hotspots. Trump said that “globalists” are about to ruin prosperous countries while announcing his plans to direct the US military to launch operations against Iran and, more recently, against suspected drug smugglers from Venezuela.
Trump asks European nations to give up green energy, address immigration
Suggesting that other nations need to follow suit, Trump praised his administration’s policies permitting increased drilling for oil and natural gas in the US and vigorously combating illegal immigration.
He sternly cautioned that European countries who embrace more hospitable immigration policies and invest in costly energy projects to lower their carbon footprints are damaging their economy and cultures beyond repair.
“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail. If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail,” the US president remarked.
“I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer,” he added.
Makes U-turn on Ukraine war
Trump also spoke on Russia’s war in Ukraine, threatening to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” on Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to halt the war.
He held off on announcing a significant change in his stance on the war until after the speech and a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said that he now thinks Ukraine can take back all the territories that Russia has claimed with NATO’s assistance.
“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
If Trump’s increased support holds, it will be a major victory for Zelenskyy, who has asked the US president to continue pressing Putin to halt the Ukraine war.
Returning to his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to put an immediate end to the war. Additionally, he has often implied that the US had little stake in the result.
“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger’,” he wrote.
Addresses Palestinian statehood
Trump also retaliated against longstanding American allies who are using the UN General Assembly this year to draw attention to the expanding global movement for the recognition of a Palestinian state, which Israel and the US strongly oppose.
At the beginning of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. on Monday to rally support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict, France became the latest country to recognise Palestinian statehood.
The endeavour drew harsh criticism from Trump.
“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7,” he said.
To discuss ending the war in Gaza, the president also participated in a group discussion with representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.
“This is my most important meeting. But this is the one that’s very important to me because we’re going to end something that should have probably never started,” Trump noted.