Trump tells UN in speech that it is 'not even coming close to living up'
to its potential
[September 24, 2025]
By AAMER MADHANI and FARNOUSH AMIRI
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump castigated the United
Nations as a feckless institution in a speech to the world body on
Tuesday, praising the turn America has taken under his leadership while
warning Europe will be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a
“double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy
policies.
His roughly hourlong speech before the U.N. General Assembly was both
grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to
applaud his second-term achievements and lament that some of his fellow
world leaders' countries were “going to hell."
The address was the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the
United States — after a four-year interim under the more
internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to an
unapologetically “America First” posture with an antagonistic view
toward the United Nations. Trump also sharply criticized the global body
for inaction, saying it was filled with “empty words” that “don’t solve
wars.”
“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “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.”
Afterward, Trump attempted to assuage fears from some diplomats by
assuring the top U.N. leader that the U.S. remained “100%” supportive of
the global body despite his earlier criticism.
“I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it because the
potential for peace at this institution is great,” Trump told
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
It was another about-face after Trump offered a weave of jarring
juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.
He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his
administration's efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the
same time, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to
carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug
smugglers from Venezuela and argued that “globalists” are on the verge
of destroying successful nations.
Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migration
Trump touted his administration's policies allowing for expanded
drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively
cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more
countries should follow suit.
He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming
migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at
reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their
economies and cultures.
“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’
scam, your country is going to fail," Trump said. "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.”
Trump added, “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.”
Trump makes dramatic shift on Russia-Ukraine war
Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine, once again threatening to
hit Moscow with “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” if Russian
President Vladimir Putin does not come to the table to end the war.
He waited until after the speech, and a meeting with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to announce a dramatic shift in his position on the
war: He said he now believes Ukraine, with the help of NATO, can win
back all territory lost to Russia.
Trump wrote in part in his post. “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.”
The strengthened support from Trump, if it sticks, is a huge win for
Zelenskyy, who has urged the American president to keep up the pressure
on Putin to end his brutal war on Ukraine.
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President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United
Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at U.N.
headquarters. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Trump going back to his 2024 campaign insisted that he would quickly
end the war. And he’s frequently suggested that U.S. interests in
the outcome were limited.
“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.’”
Trump speaks out on Palestinian statehood push
The president also pushed back on longtime American allies who are
using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing
international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a
move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.
France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood
on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed
at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast
conflict.
Trump sharply criticized the effort.
“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said.
“This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including
Oct. 7.”
The president also took part in a group meeting with officials from
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United
Arab Emirates and Jordan for talks focused on ending the Gaza war.
“This is my most important meeting,” Trump said. “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 pokes at UN for escalator, teleprompter issues
Early in his speech, Trump broke from his prepared remarks to bemoan
an inoperable escalator in U.N. headquarters that he happened upon
as well as a defective teleprompter.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad
escalator and a bad teleprompter,” Trump poked, eliciting laughs
from delegates and leaders.
Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, said the escalator’s
abrupt stop happened after a videographer who accompanied the U.S.
delegation may have inadvertently triggered a built-in safety
mechanism.
A U.N. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue said the White House was operating the
teleprompter for the president.
Trump has Oslo dreams
The president again made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel
Peace Prize, repeating his spurious claim that he's "ended seven
wars” since he returned to office.
“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the
real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up
because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless
wars,” Trump said in his address.
Trump regularly points to his administration's efforts to end
several conflicts around the world, including fighting between
Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Egypt and Sudan.
“It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United
Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United
Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”
Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations,
experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.
___
Associated Press writers Jamey Keaton in Geneva, Switzerland, Tracy
Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta,
and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.
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