President Donald Trump says he ended “seven unendable wars” in seven months. Mr Trump touted his success in ending intractable conflicts and trade wars while delivering his statement to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York.
Yet the UN offered little help, he said, asking, “What is the purpose of the United Nations? It seems to write very strongly worded letters, but empty words don’t solve war.”
While some, he noted, suggested he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Mr Trump said, “The real prize will be to save millions of lives.”
On Iran, the “world’s number one sponsor of terror”, he said, with that country’s enrichment capabilities “completely demolished”, his administration had also brokered an end to the 12-day war.
On Ukraine, he “always thought that would be the easiest” war to end because of his relationship with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Instead, he said, the conflict has dragged on for three years, “killing five to seven thousand young people a week”.
He accused NATO countries of hypocrisy.
“They are buying oil and gas from Russia when they are fighting Russia,” he said.
His proposed solution was tariffs that, “if Russia does not end the war, the United States would impose very strict tariffs, which would end the war very quickly, but the Europeans have to adopt them as well”.
He urged immediate action on Gaza, release of all the hostages, and warned that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State would amount to “a reward to Hamas for its horrible atrocities”.
He, however, criticised the UN on multiple fronts.
“Many years ago, I bid to rebuild the United Nations for $500 million, but they decided to go in another direction, which produced a much more inferior complex,” said Mr Trump. “They spent between two and four billion dollars and did not even get the marble floors I promised them.”
On migration, he said that in 2024, the UN spent “$372 million in cash to support 624,000 migrants to journey into the United States to infiltrate our Southern border”.
He also added, “The UN is supposed to stop invasion, not promote them.”
Mr Trump also attacked climate policy and renewable energy.
“Windmills are pathetic,” he said, calling the carbon footprint “a hoax”.
He argued, “If you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail”.
Citing Germany’s struggles, he warned that “energy and open immigration are destroying Europe”.
Pointing to China’s emissions, he said, “China now produces more CO2 than all the other developed nations in the world.”
(NAN)
