Trump slams UN, Europe in fiery UNGA Speech

US President Donald Trump delivered a scathing speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, attacking the UN, European allies, and climate change policies.

Returning to the world body for the first time since his White House comeback, Trump warned that Western countries were “going to hell” because of migration and dismissed climate change as the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”

In his nearly hour-long address, Trump accused the UN of failing to support his efforts to end wars in Gaza and Ukraine, mocking the body’s actions as limited to issuing “strongly worded letters.” He also criticized Washington’s allies for recognizing a Palestinian state, describing it as a “reward” to Hamas following the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Trump further lashed out at Europe, China, and India for buying Russian oil but spared Moscow sharp criticism. His most stinging remarks were reserved for migration, which he described as a UN-backed “invasion” of Western nations. “Your countries are going to hell,” he told European leaders.

The president also took aim at climate change, calling it a hoax devised by “evil people,” while boasting of his administration’s push for more oil drilling and reduced environmental regulations. “Climate change—it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” Trump declared.

In a lighter jab, he even mocked the UN’s infrastructure, joking that all he received from the organization was “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

Trump touted his domestic crime policies, including deploying troops to Washington and authorizing deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats. “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” he warned.

His administration has rolled out sweeping nationalist policies since his return, pulling the US out of the World Health Organization and the UN climate pact, cutting foreign aid, and imposing sanctions on international judges.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in contrast, opened the Assembly by warning that US-led aid cuts were “wreaking havoc” globally. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also used his speech to caution against “anti-democratic forces,” alluding to an alleged coup plot tied to his predecessor, who enjoys Trump’s support.

Trump revealed he briefly embraced Lula at the UN and agreed to meet him next week. He also confirmed an upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following his August summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin that broke Moscow’s Western isolation but produced no breakthrough.

Meanwhile, the US Secret Service announced it had disrupted a suspected plot by “nation-state threat actors” aimed at disrupting UN communications ahead of Trump’s speech.