Trump urges UN to reform itself, citing ‘bureaucracy and mismanagement’

NEW YORK CITY President Trump began his first United Nations trip on Monday by calling on the international body to improve the way it does business, and to have it pay more of the costs for joint projects like peacekeeping.

“In recent years the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement,” Trump told delegates from other countries, calling on the organization to invest “more in people and less in bureaucracy.”

Trump, a long-time critic of the U.N., also made reference to his frequent campaign trail complaint that the United States bears an oversized share of the costs for U.N. activities. “We must ensure that no one and no member state shoulders a disproportionate share of the burden,” Trump said, “and that’s militarily or financially.”

The U.S. covers about 22% of the U.N. budget.

Speaking for about four minutes at his first United Nations event, Trump said he wants to change “business as usual,” and see the organization develop unspecified “metrics” by which it can measure its management and efforts to promote peace and security.

The president also promoted one of his own business projects, an apartment tower across from the United Nations building, and credited its success in part to the existence of the U.N.

Trump’s comments at the special forum – entitled “Reforming the United Nations: Management, Security, and Development” – kicked off four days of meetings and receptions at the U.N., topped by a Tuesday morning speech to the entire 193member General Assembly.

Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, described the reform meeting as a sign that “it truly is a new day at the United Nations.”

Having run for president in part on an “America First” platform, Trump had harsh words in particular for the United Nations.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump at one point said “the United Nations is not a friend of democracy; it’s not a friend to freedom.”

He has also described the U.N. as “a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.”

Some U.N. members, meanwhile, have expressed concern that Trump’s preference for unilateral action could undermine the global trading system and undercut U.N. efforts promote peaceful resolutions of international disputes.

Trump re-took the world stage more than two months after attending a trip of international summits – NATO, the G-7, and the G-20 – that featured disputes over trade, climate change, and the U.S. commitment to mutual defense of NATO allies.

Trump’s major objective is to rally global support for pressuring North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons, or at least stop threatening to use them against the United States and its allies in Asia. While Trump and his aides said they want to resolve the dispute diplomatically, they have also reserved the military option.

The president is considering whether to de-certify the nuclear agreement that predecessor Barack Obama reached in 2015. While Iran agreed to give up the means to make nuclear weapons as the U.S. and allies reduce economic sanctions, Trump says Iran isn’t living up to “the spirit” of the deal.