Trump to make U.N. debut with speech offering warmth to allies

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump will use his debut speech to the U.N. General Assembly this week to offer warmth to the United States’ allies and warnings to its adversaries.

“He slaps the right people, he hugs the right people and he comes out very strong in the end,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Friday as she previewed Trump’s Tuesday speech.

Addressing the General Assembly is a milestone moment for any president, but one particularly significant for Trump, a relative newcomer to foreign policy who has at times rattled the international community with his unpredictability.

“No one is going to grip and grin,” Haley said at a White House briefing. “The United States is going to work.”

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Trump “will urge all states to come together to address great dangers” facing the globe. Among topics certain to be on the agenda: North Korea, which has defied both sanctions and Trump’s threats by continuing with its aggressive missile testing, and Iran, which the president has accused of violating an international nuclear deal.

Trump has been sharply critical of the United Nations in the past, denouncing its “utter weakness and incompetence.” As president-elect, he derided it as “a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” He also suggested deep cuts to U.S. funding for the U.N.

Haley and McMaster outlined a robust schedule for Trump, who will also be joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other top advisers. The meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations are often done in rapid succession, a wearying test for even the most experienced foreign policy team.

The General Assembly “is an incredibly sophisticated dance that doesn’t really play to Tillerson’s strengths or to the president’s strengths,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic & International Studies. “You often have one 15-minute meeting after another,” with the goal of keeping focused on key points. “It’s kind of like speed dating from hell,” he said.

The president will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally, on Monday before holding a dinner with Latin American leaders. On Tuesday, in addition to his General Assembly speech, Trump will meet with the emir of Qatar, whose kingdom is embroiled in a dispute with other Middle East nations, including Saudi Arabia, over alleged funding of terror groups.

Trump on Wednesday will hold a working lunch with African leaders and will meet with the heads of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.