New U.N. chief to face antagonistic Trump
UNITED NATIONS — Antonio Guterres takes the reins of the United Nations today, promising to be a “bridgebuilder” but facing an antagonistic incoming U.S. administration led by President-elect Donald Trump, who contends that the world body’s 193 member states do nothing except talk and have a good time.
The former Portuguese prime minister and U.N. refugee chief told reporters he will engage all governments — “and, of course, also with the next government of the United States” — and show his willingness to cooperate on “the enormous challenges that we’ll be facing together.”
But Trump has shown little interest in multilateralism, which Guterres said is “the cornerstone” of the United Nations, and great attachment to the Republicans’ “America First” agenda.
So as Guterres begins his five-year term facing conflicts from Syria and Yemen to South Sudan and Libya and global crises from terrorism to climate change, U.S. support for the United Nations remains a question mark. It matters because the U.S. is a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council and pays 22 percent of the U.N.’s regular budget and 25 percent of its peacekeeping budget.
I mmediately a f t e r t h e United States allowed the Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Dec. 23 in a stunning rupture with past practice, Trump warned in a tweet: “As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th,” the day he takes office.
Trump followed up three days later with another tweet questioning its effectiveness. “The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”
John Bolton, a conservative Republican and former U. S. a mbassador to the United Nations, said in an interview that Guterres would be well advised “especially given the incoming Trump administration” to follow the model of his predecessor, Ban Ki-moon, and do what member governments want.
In an interview during his campaign with three journalists, Guterres said the role of secretary-general should be “an honest broker, a consensus builder” who engages as much as possible, in many circumstances discreetly.
“It’s not just to have a personal agenda, because it would be regrettable or ineffective, or to appear in the limelight. No. On the contrary, it’s to act with humility to try to create the conditions for member states that are the crucial actors in any process to be able to come together and to overcome their differences,” he said.
W h e t h e r t h e T r u m p a d mi n i s t r a t i o n wi l l j o i n Guterres and U.N. efforts to tackle what he sees as “a multiplication of new conflicts” and the myriad problems on the global agenda remains to be seen.
R i c h a r d G r e n e l l , wh o served as U.S. spokesman at the United Nations during President George W. Bush’s administration and has been working with Trump’s transition team, downplayed the prospect that Trump will withdraw from or even disregard the United Nations.
He said in an interview in early December that Trump is talking about reforming the U.N. and other international organizations so “they live up to their ideals.”