Trump says UN ‘mismanaged’
Noble goals ‘being held back by bureaucracy’
US President Donald Trump yesterday warned that bureaucracy was holding the United Nations back, a barbed first message to an institution he once derided as a talking shop.
Kicking off a frantic week of diplomacy with a panel discussion on UN reform, Trump noted a personal history with the New York-based institution.
He had seen “great potential right across the street” from UN headquarters, Trump said, referencing his decision to build the 72-floor residential skyscraper Trump World Tower nearby.
“To be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project,” he said.
But Trump warned that as chief executive of the US – a founding member of the UN and its biggest financial contributor – he wanted a better return on his investment.
“The United Nations was founded on truly noble goals,” he said, adding that while progress had been made in recent years the UN had not reached its full potential, because of bureaucracy and mismanagement.
“While the United Nations on a regular budget has increased by 140%, and its staff has more than doubled since 2000, we are not seeing the results in line with this investment.”
He called on the institution to focus on results, a call that was echoed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said a reformed UN needed to focus more on people and less on process.
Trump once disparaged the world body as a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time and his administration has threatened deep cuts to UN funding.
That includes a $600-million (almost R8-billion) cut to the peacekeeping budget, which critics warn will be devastating but is music to Trump supporters’ ears.
“I think the main message is ‘Make the United Nations Great.’ Not again. ‘Make the United Nations Great,” Trump said.
“The United Nations has tremendous potential and we’ll see how it works out.”
Although Franklin Roosevelt was instrumental in helping the UN into existence, the US public has proven more sceptical.
Many of Trump’s closest advisers and donors see the 193-member body as a check on US power and drain on American resources.
The US pays 22% of the UN’s $5.4-billion (R71.7-billion) core budget and 28.5% of the $7.3-billion (R97-billion) peacekeeping budget.
According to Gallup, 60% of Americans think the UN is doing a poor job. The Trump administration’s effort to cut costs has been met coolly by other powers, most notably Russia and China, who were not among the 128 member states who signed on to a US call for reform.
Trump’s remarks were a preamble to his maiden address to the UN general assembly today.
His appearance – which will last about 30 minutes – is likely to emphasise the importance of sovereignty and the primacy of the nation state, reinforcing the anti-internationalist themes of his campaign.
Trump was also due to hold talks last night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron on the future of the Iran nuclear agreement.
The French leader makes a strong case for keeping it alive while the Israeli prime minister is pushing for its demise.