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WASHINTON — President Trump unloaded on world leaders attending the annual United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, questioning the purpose of the international organization and ripping it for hiding behind “empty words” while he tries to solve world conflicts.
In an impassioned, nearly hourlong address, the commander in chief pointed to his record of closing America’s borders and attempting to usher in global peace — including in Israel, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan — and needled the UN for not giving him a call to iron out the deals.
“It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them, and sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them,” he said, standing on stage at the UN headquarters in New York.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN 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 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,” the president went on.
“It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war.”
He then issued a dire warning for European countries to halt immigration and lambasted the continent’s energy policies.
“Europe is in serious trouble,” he cautioned.
“They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody has seen before. Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe,” he continued, singling out wind energy.
He suggested Europe “control their own borders” and argued that countries should be able to “protect their communities” from migrants with different customs and religions from changing the fabric of their culture.
“It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now,” he went on.
The audience was noticeably stifled as he declared, “Your countries are going to hell.”
Trump blamed the UN for driving illegal migration to the US and other Western nations.
“Your countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders,” he seethed.
“In 2024, the UN budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States. Think of that,” he continued.
“The UN is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out. The UN also provided food, shelter, transportation and debit cards to illegal aliens.”
Trump’s fiery address came after he suffered a few technical snafus.
While on his way to deliver the remarks, the escalator that he and first lady Melania Trump were riding stopped working. The teleprompter that was supposed to carry his speech then halted as soon as he began his speech.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up, stopped right in the middle,” he said.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
Despite Trump’s take-down of multiculturalism and direct tone, the audience didn’t seem to react with hostility. Instead, leaders are flocking to speak.
The president said he spoke with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backstage at the UN and the two are set to meet next week.
Trump is also expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among a list of other world leaders, at the UN on Tuesday.
