TRUMP’S TOUGH TALK AT UN
President warns North Korea
Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “total destruction,” using his debut United Nations speech Tuesday to warn hostile nations and defend his America First policy.
“Major portions of the world are in conflict, and some, in fact, are going to hell,” said the U.S. president, in a speech that began with talk of opportunity and promise but then segued into warnings about “the wicked few” who spread “evil” — referencing extremists, authoritarian regimes and criminal networks.
Trump described terrorists as “losers” and sparked mirth when he referred to Kim Jong Un as the “Rocket Man ... on a suicide mission.”
His speech was seen as a return to George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil” philosophy — but this time, the axis only featured Iran and North Korea. However, his emphasis on working together to tackle rogue states was at times at odds with his repeated insistence on the value of sovereign nation states working in their own interests.
With the North Korean delegation sitting in the front row — a quirk of this year’s rotating seating plan — Trump delivered, as expected, a stern warning to Pyongyang.
“No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea,” said Trump, accusing Kim of orchestrating starvation, torture and murder.
“If this is not twisted enough, now North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life. The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Trump, however, stopped short of calling for regime change, which North Korea regards as the ultimate American intention and treats as a reason for its development of nuclear weapons.
He also urged nations to join to stop Iran’s nuclear program — he declared the deal to restrain it an “embarrassment” for the United States — and defeat “loser terrorists” who have struck violence across the globe.
He denounced “radical Islamic terrorism,” the inflammatory label he has recently shied away from.
Trump must decide by Oct. 15 whether Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal and Tuesday gave the strongest indication yet that he wanted to rip up the agreement. “The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy,” he said. “It has turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state, whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos.”
He accused Iran of financing terrorism in Syria and Yemen, in remarks greeted with delight by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who said: “In over 30 years, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech.”
The America First policy has been making many in the global organization nervous. Yet he received applause when he stated: “As president ... I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.”
He returned repeatedly to the notion of sovereignty and the idea that countries acting in their own interests is the best way to maintain peace.
“Our success depends on a coalition of strong and independent nations that embrace their sovereignty, to promote security, prosperity and peace.”
Trump criticized Barack Obama for failing to say “radical Islamic terrorism” and he used the phrase multiple times. “We must deny the terrorists safe haven, transit, funding and any form of support for their vile and sinister ideology,” he said.
He spoke proudly of his “new strategy for victory” in Afghanistan, and the progress in Syria and Iraq — also condemning Bashar Assad, the Syrian leader, for using chemical weapons.
Trump dined on Monday night with Latin American presidents and Tuesday sternly condemned “the corrupt, destabilizing regime in Cuba” and the government in Venezuela. “The socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country.”
The businessman reiterated his thanks to Antonio Guterres, the secretarygeneral, for his work on reforming the bloated bureaucracy of the UN.
“To be fair, if it could actually accomplish all of its stated goals, especially the goal of peace, this investment would easily be well worth it,” he said.
He did not refer to Burma and the persecution of the Rohingya nor, as expected, reference climate change. Russia was also absent — although he mentioned “threats to sovereignty from Ukraine to the South China Sea,” a reference to Moscow’s expansionism.