Trump attacks allies, UN, and global institutions in fiery General Assembly speech

US President Donald Trump delivered a fiery and sprawling address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, going well beyond his prepared remarks and the standard time limit to launch attacks on European allies, global institutions, and the UN itself, while promoting his signature “America First” agenda.

The speech, which stretched to more than 35 minutes, over double the allotted 15 minutes, drew muted reactions inside the chamber, with moments of nervous laughter, sparse applause, and visible unease among delegates.

Sharp Criticism of European Allies and Migration

Trump’s strongest rhetoric was aimed at European leaders and their handling of immigration. He called open borders a “failed experiment” and warned that European countries were “going to hell” if they continued current policies.

He accused European governments of following a “globalist migration agenda” and urged them to emulate the United States. “Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border, they simply stopped coming,” Trump said.

The president cited figures he claimed showed high proportions of foreign nationals in European prisons: 50 percent in Germany, 53 percent in Austria, 54 percent in Greece, and 72 percent in Switzerland.

Wars in Ukraine and Gaza

Trump addressed the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, portraying himself as a dealmaker while chastising allies.

On Ukraine, he said, “Out of the seven wars I ended, I thought the war in Ukraine would be the easiest because of my friendship with President Putin,” before warning Russia that “powerful tariffs” would follow if Moscow failed to agree to peace terms. He pressed European allies to adopt identical measures, saying they must “join” the US approach.

On Gaza, Trump demanded the release of captives by Hamas and urged an immediate end to fighting. But he dismissed recent moves by several countries to formally recognize a Palestinian state as “a reward to Hamas.” He insisted, “Those who want peace should be united in one message: release the hostages now.”

Iran, Nuclear Weapons, and the Middle East

The president turned to Iran, calling it the “leading sponsor of terror” and warning it must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. He recounted a recent US military strike on a key Iranian nuclear facility, saying, “We did something that for 22 years people wanted to do.”

Trump said he had offered Iran’s supreme leader a pledge of cooperation in exchange for halting nuclear operations, but warned of consequences if they continued.

He also revisited the Abraham Accords, lamenting that “America never gets any credit for anything.” He claimed his May trip to the Middle East strengthened US ties in the region, saying, “I believe our relationship there is closer than before.”

Clashes with the UN and “Globalism”

Trump’s speech included broad criticism of the UN and international institutions, consistent with his past rhetoric. “Globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order,” he said.

He pointed to the UN’s ongoing financial crisis, worsened by US cuts to contributions. Reports indicate the organization faces a projected USD 500 million shortfall in 2026, threatening its peacekeeping and human rights programs.

Trump also revived personal grievances, recalling that years earlier he submitted a bid to remodel the UN building, only for the project to go elsewhere. “The UN decided to go in a different direction,” he said, calling the result a “far inferior product” that lacked the marble floors he promised. He even linked his morning struggle with an escalator in the building to the UN’s broader inefficiency.

“The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,” Trump declared.

Claims of Ending Wars

In a repeated theme, Trump boasted of ending “seven un-endable wars,” listing conflicts involving Cambodia and Thailand, Pakistan and India, 'Israel' and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. “It’s unfortunate that I had to do these things without the United Nations,” he said.

Other Key Themes

• Climate Change: Trump derided clean energy efforts as a “green new scam” and called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
• Drug Cartels: He vowed to use the “supreme power of the United States military” to pursue drug cartels near Venezuela, threatening to “blow you out of existence.”
• Economy: Declaring the “golden age of America,” Trump insisted that inflation had been “defeated,” despite recent market reports showing an uptick.
  Audience Response

Delegates’ reactions were subdued throughout. Some laughed nervously when Trump vowed to deport or jail migrants, while others swiveled in their seats to take selfies with the president speaking in the background.

The chamber fell largely silent during Trump’s boasts of ending wars, and even his more provocative remarks, such as claiming illegal immigration in the US had fallen to “zero”, were met with little visible response.

Trump’s address set a combative tone for the General Assembly’s high-level debate, opening its 80th session under the theme, “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.”