Applause for Macron, laughter greets Trump
President Emmanuel Macron launched a blistering rebuke of Donald Trump’s isolationist doctrine before the United Nations, denouncing nationalism as the cause of ‘‘global war’’ as he sought to take the mantle of the leader of the free world.
‘‘Nationalism always leads to defeat,’’ he warned in an impassioned defence of the global institutions that President Trump had scorned in his address to the General Assembly hours earlier. ‘‘Just as our collective system is falling apart, it is in demand,’’ he said, calling for ‘‘a new world order with a human face’’ to tackle inequality. ‘‘Human rights are not negotiable values,’’ he said. His speech drew a standing ovation.
Trump, by contrast, was met with laughter when he claimed that ‘‘in less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country’’. Undaunted, he ploughed on. ‘‘So true,’’ he insisted, and smiled. ‘‘I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.’’
He chose the annual gettogether of world leaders to reject multilateralism and advise them to put their national sovereignty first. ‘‘We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,’’ he said.
He launched blistering attacks on familiar targets. Iran was led by a ‘‘corrupt dictatorship’’. Abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal was the right thing to do, he said.
He announced sanctions against Venezuela, but had kind words for North Korea, commending ‘‘the courage’’ of Kim Jong Un for working with him to achieve ‘‘progress few could have imagined only a short time ago’’. He thanked Kim ‘‘for the steps he has taken, though much work remains to be done’’. He added: ‘‘The sanctions will stay in place until denuclearisation has occurred.’’
Trump went on to praise India, Poland, Israel and Saudi Arabia. His brickbats were for China and its trade policy, Germany for its reliance on Russian energy, and Venezuela, which Trump held up as proof that ‘‘virtually everywhere socialism or communism has been tried, it has produced suffering’’. Russia was not mentioned.
The night before Trump’s speech, foreign ministers for Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran agreed to establish a joint facility in the European Union to facilitate payments for Iran’s exports, including oil, as well as its imports. The measure, sought by the Tehran government, offers a means of circumventing the American sanctions.
When President Hassan Rouhani rose to address the Assembly, soon after Macron, he leant on the international consensus in favour of the 2015 deal to insist again that it was the Trump administration, not the regime in Tehran, that was defying international norms. –