NEW YORK – US President Donald Trump delivered a blistering, 56-minute speech on Tuesday, using his first UN address of his second term to place the war in Ukraine at the top of his “America First” agenda.
Eschewing his prepared remarks after a teleprompter malfunction, the US president used the address to launch a broadside against global institutions and issue a clear ultimatum to Russia.
The speech became a combative defense of his worldview and a stark condemnation of both allies and adversaries alike.
A ‘powerful’ tariff threat and a scolding for Europe
The US President made it clear that the path to peace in Ukraine would not be a one-way street. He threatened Russia with “a very strong round of powerful tariffs,” but only if European allies “step it up” and join the US in its efforts.
“In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war,” Trump said, “then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs.”
However, he immediately pivoted to his European counterparts, accusing them of a hypocrisy he called “embarrassing.”
“You’re much closer to the city,” he said, gesturing with his hands. “We have an ocean in between. You’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing to them,” he added.
He claimed to have only recently learned of this “unexcusable” practice, calling it an act of self-sabotage: “They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?”
The US President then expanded his criticism to include India and China, which, believed to be are the top two buyers of Russian oil.
“India and China are also the primary funders of the war,” Trump asserted, arguing that their purchases of Russian energy were fueling the conflict.
His comments put nations like NATO member Turkey, the third-largest buyer of Russian oil, and fellow members Hungary and Slovakia, in a difficult position.
Trump Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had telegraphed the administration’s position earlier in the day.
In an interview with NBC’s Today program, Rubio defended the US strategy, arguing that holding off on a full-throttle sanctions regime preserves Washington’s ability to mediate.
“The minute we go heavy on the sanctions and everything else, our ability to act as a broker to bring about peace is diminished,” Rubio said.
He also pushed back on criticism that the administration had not fulfilled a campaign promise to “end the war on day one,” stating, “The Russians have to stop the war. And the Ukrainians have to agree to a peace deal.”
Broader critique of the UN and Europe
The US President then launched a broader assault on the UN itself, arguing that the organization has become a force for global instability.
He pointed to his own alleged success in ending seven global conflicts – a list that included conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, and Israel and Iran – saying he was “honored” to help.
But he claimed that the UN “did not even try to help in any” of them. “It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said.
He added: “The UN has such tremendous potential... 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 war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.”
As his primary example of the UN creating problems, he cited “uncontrolled migration,” which he called “the number one political issue of our time.”
“Your countries are being ruined,” he told the assembled leaders. He then specifically singled out Europe, telling them they were in “serious trouble.”
“They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before,” he emphasized: “Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe, and nobody’s doing anything to change it, to get them out, it’s not sustainable.”
US President then urged allies to learn from his work in America: “We’ve taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration. Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming.”
Trump called the rate of immigration throughout Europe as part of the “globalist migration agenda.”
A call to denuclearize and ‘blow out of existence’
Amid his broad criticisms, Trump also called for global denuclearization and an end to biological weapons research, announcing that the administration will lead an “international effort” to enforce the Biological Weapons Convention.
“As we seek to reduce the threat of dangerous weapons,” he said, “today, I’m also calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all.”
He also extended his hardline rhetoric to drug smugglers. “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the USA: Please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” he said.
The US President’s speech, which was preceded by a sobering address from UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the organization’s 80th anniversary, set a confrontational tone for the gathering of world leaders.
In a speech short on traditional diplomatic pleasantries and long on demands and direct accusations, Trump made it clear that a new world order, based on the principles of his “America First” agenda, was already taking shape.
The White House, meanwhile, has outlined a busy schedule for the US President.
He is set to hold bilateral meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly, as well as leaders from Argentina and the European Union.
He also plans to hold a multilateral meeting with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, signaling a full agenda of diplomatic engagement beyond his public address.