Trump’s UN speech pulled no punches – and put the world on notice

Watching President Trump slice and dice the United Nations Tuesday morning, I couldn’t help but think that the gods have a sense of humor — and excellent timing.

The fact that neither the building’s escalator nor its teleprompter was working gave Trump fresh ammunition for his broad onslaught, which was well designed and extremely effective.

He saw the malfunctions as a metaphor for a blob of bureaucrats failing at their core reason for being.

He didn’t skimp on offering abundant evidence that the world body is a bust at making peace and keeping it.

Indeed, he argued that, beyond being useless, its weakness is actually making some big problems worse.

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” he asked before answering his own question: “For the most part, at least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve wars.”

That and many other passages were examples of American straight talk at its best and most blunt.

His punches were all the more powerful for being delivered in a forum where obfuscation is prized and deception is often disguised as diplomacy.

Get the message

At 57 minutes, the president’s address could have used a trim here and there to tighten the focus and eliminate some of the excessive self-references.

Still, his meaning was clear and his main points were ones his international audience needed to hear, especially if they didn’t want to!

Given Trump’s cuts to foreign spending, it’s no surprise to the global grifters that Uncle Sam will no longer be Uncle Sap when it comes to funding their wastrel ways.

Moreover, the president removed any doubts that his America First agenda would ever yield its sovereignty and principles to a failed globalist regime.

That was the contrast at the heart of Trump’s address, which made it especially compelling as he cited both America’s success in key ways and the sputtering failures of our European allies, among others.

In fact, any citizens of Europe who watched or read Trump’s speech with an open mind must be wondering why their leaders are sticking with policies that are clear failures.

In particular, Trump repeatedly hit the target in damning Europe’s refusal to exploit its vast energy resources while agreeing to virtually unchecked and unvetted migration.

He essentially compared Europe to Joe Biden’s policies, which he derided as massive failures and even con jobs.

Leftist dogmas about green energy and open borders are a proven curse on both continents, he said.

Overall, Trump cited areas where he believes the UN has been more of a problem than a solution and how much of the West has entered a period of decline by following along.

The first was war and peace.

He cited what he said were seven different conflicts where the feckless UN did nothing, and where he insisted he helped to broker peace.

Two others continue, one involving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the other being Israel’s war with Hamas.

He acknowledged the difficulty of solving the Ukraine situation but was blunt in demanding that European members of NATO immediately cut their foolish dependence on Russian oil and gas.

After accusing them of “funding the war against themselves,” he added in a mocking tone, “Who the hell ever heard of that one?”

Scolding for Europe

The fact that much of Europe hasn’t broken the addiction to Russian energy is indeed bizarre given that Trump successfully pushed those same countries to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP.

Because the point of NATO is to keep Russia out of Europe, why in the world would Europeans simultaneously import Russian energy products while increasing their spending to defend themselves against Russia?

After his speech, Trump met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said openly that Trump is right about the need for European nations to stop purchasing Russian oil.

It’s good of her to acknowledge the obvious, but she must get her troops united in withholding the energy proceeds that Putin uses to fund his war machine in Ukraine and, increasingly, to threaten other members, including Poland.

Trump also met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and, in a big shift, said he believes Ukraine can “win” the war and take back all the territory it lost since Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

As expected, Trump scorched the UN for its failure to treat Hamas as the terror organization it clearly is.

He blasted the fact that the terrorists are still holding hostages even as a number of countries, including in Europe, are calling for a Palestinian state.

He is right that recognition, even without borders, amounts to a “reward” for Hamas and it is noteworthy that he is not afraid to have America chart its own course and not follow the crowd.

He called the Oct 7, 2023, invasion of Israel an “atrocity” and demanded that Hamas “release all the hostages now.”

It is shameful that European leaders won’t dare utter those same words.

“We want all the hostages back,” Trump said, not two or four.”

The applause was polite at best, revealing that most General Assembly members are preparing to recognize a Palestinian state, even while Hamas holds a reported 20 living hostages as well as the corpses of nearly 40 others who died in captivity.

The failure of the UN to condemn the terrorists, while focusing much of its ire on the Jewish state is a vile expression of its antisemitism.

Example to the world

Count that as another instance where America, especially under Trump’s leadership, is the lone bulwark against global madness.

In his denunciation of open borders and the attacks on fossil fuels, he included the UN as a main culprit in both movements.

He called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and said it had led to needless soaring costs of energy and created a globalist elite that never practiced what it preached.

He cited Europe as having succumbed to the siren songs of both, and said the policies had contributed greatly to those nations’ decline.

Scathing in his denunciation of Biden’s open borders, Trump cited his own administration’s hard battle to restrict migration.

He called open borders a “failed experiment” and added, “You have to end it now. See, I can tell you. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.”

He added: “Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming,” he said.

“They’re not coming anymore.”

The numbers that prove his point recall a Muhammad Ali line: “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.