President Trump warned world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly of “uncontrolled migration” and accused the U.N. of contributing to the problem.
“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,” Trump said.
In his remarks in New York, Trump also repeated his assertion that the U.S. has entered a “golden age” and discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Trump is finding himself increasingly isolated at the U.N., where there is a growing push to recognize a Palestinian state.
Trump said those efforts, notably by the U.K., France and Canada, among others, were a mistake.
“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities,” he said, in line with Israel’s position.
Ahead of Trump, the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres kicked off the General Assembly Tuesday by saying that nothing can justify the Oct. 7 attacks.
He added, “Nothing can justify collective punishment of the Palestinian people or any form of ethnic cleansing. I call once again for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and unhindered humanitarian access.”
Trump plans to hold meetings later in the day with leaders of the Middle East to discuss Gaza.
He will also keep his attention on the conflict in Ukraine. Trump said in his speech that he will be putting pressure on European leaders to stop buying oil from Russia as punishment for its ongoing assault on Ukraine.
“They’re funding the war against themselves,” he said. “Who the hell ever heard of that one?”
Trump has increasingly criticized NATO for expecting the U.S. to pressure Russia directly when they could do more themselves.
Meanwhile, Russia has been testing European leaders and the alliance with recent incursions into NATO airspace.
Beyond the international headlines of the gathering, Trump spoke at length about immigration and the dangers he believes it poses. He pointed fingers at the United Nations — of which he’s long been a critic — directly on the topic.
“The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders,” he said.
Trump accused the U.N. of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support migrants traveling to the U.S., including providing them shelter and transportation.
“You’re doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct and you’re destroying your heritage,” Trump said of Europe.
Despite his criticism, Trump met with the secretary general after his speech and vowed, “Our country is behind the United Nations 100%.”
“I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it,” Trump said.
Transcript:
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump is in New York this morning, where he addressed world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. He touted how the U.S. has entered what he called a golden age and then denounced what he called, quote, “uncontrolled migration” around the world. And in the halls of the General Assembly, he accused the U.N. of contributing to the problem.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: 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.
FADEL: This comes as Trump is finding himself increasingly isolated at the U.N., where there is a growing push to recognize a Palestinian state. Here to talk about all this is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Good morning. Thanks for being here.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So the president just spoke. What stood out to you?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. He spoke for about an hour, praising the work of his administration, claiming to have turned the country around. But it didn’t really start off so well – the speech, that is. I mean, his teleprompter wasn’t working. He complained about a broken escalator. And he used those examples of the problems of the U.N. He complained of so much waste and corruption. He even told a story about losing a bid to renovate the U.N. complex so far way back when, using the case as a metaphor of the mistakes that the U.N. often msakes (ph), saying the result was millions in cost overruns, missteps and corruption. But, Leila, he probably saved his most pointed criticism for the U.N. on migration.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders.
ORDOÑEZ: He accused the U.N. of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support migrants to the U.S., including providing them shelter and transportation. And he charged that the U.N. was being moved by political correctness and that, in his words, Western nations were losing their countries as a result.
FADEL: OK. So he’s making a lot of accusations at the U.N., praising himself. Did he address the move by the U.K., France, Canada – important U.S. allies – and others to recognize the Palestinian state?
ORDOÑEZ: He did. He called the decision a mistake.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, this position is in line with Israel…
FADEL: Right.
ORDOÑEZ: …As well, but it kind of boxes Trump out with the rest of the U.N. I mean, even the secretary-general kicked off the General Assembly saying today that nothing can justify the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, but also nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people – or, as he put it, any form of ethnic cleansing – and called for a ceasefire. Those are tough words that appear to be directed at Israel, as well as the U.S. And they were given just a couple speakers before Trump spoke.
FADEL: Right. We also heard the secretary-general say a state is a right, not a reward. The other big conflict happening right now is Russia’s war in Ukraine. Did he say anything about putting more pressure on Moscow?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. He’s got a bunch of meetings scheduled for the rest of the day this afternoon with leaders of the Middle East about Gaza, but also with European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump said in his speech that he was going to speak with European Union about European countries continuing to purchase Russian oil.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?
ORDOÑEZ: Now, Trump has increasingly criticized European nations for expecting the U.S. to put pressure on Russia when they can also do more themselves. I mean, it’s a really tough moment for Europe as leaders, especially when NATO leaders have struggled to respond to Russia, which has been testing their political will.
FADEL: That’s White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Leila.
