USA TODAY International Edition
Trump hammers Iran in United Nations address
President also attacks China and Venezuela
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump blamed Iranian leaders for sowing “chaos, death and destruction” in a steely speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that heavily emphasized the president’s support of national sovereignty over globalism. Touting his meeting this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and blasting Iran for spreading mayhem in the Middle East, Trump offered an impassioned defense of a foreign policy doctrine he said would allow countries to reject “global governance.” “We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,” Trump said. “We will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy.” Lobbing criticism at a bevy of international institutions, Trump called the U.N. human rights council “a grave embarrassment to this institution” and said the International Criminal Court “has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority.” He touted some of his most divisive foreign policy decisions, including his crackdown on immigration and his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The “America first” remarks drew on a similar speech he delivered at the United Nations last year but included more detailed examples of how that vision informs his policies on trade, immigration and the world’s hot spots. Though Trump reserved his harshest language for Iran, he did not shy away from condemning other countries by name. He jabbed China for what he said were unfair trade policies. And he announced sanctions against Venezuelan leaders and blasted the government of its president,
“We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.” President Donald Trump
Nicolas Maduro, saying his socialist policies have “bankrupted the oil-rich nation and driven its people into abject poverty.” Trump suggested he would sharply curtail U.S. foreign aid, saying he ordered a review by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of whether countries that receive American assistance are allies with shared values. “We are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends,” Trump said. “And we expect other countries to pay their fair share for the cost of their defense.” In an awkward moment, minutes into his speech, the delegates in the chamber laughed at a regular talking point from the president. Trump said his administration had accomplished more than any other in U.S. history, prompting the reaction. “So true,” Trump said. “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.” Trump’s boast drew ridicule from his critics on Twitter. “Preposterous,” tweeted Nicholas Burns, a longtime diplomat who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations. Trump’s remarks were buffeted by warnings from other world leaders that America’s pullback from the international institutions was ill-conceived and even dangerous. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a passionate defense of multilateralism, saying it was the only way to stave off instability and conflict across the globe. He rebuked Trump’s message, suggesting that “brandishing sovereignty” was a way of attacking others. In the absence of a strong American commitment to preserving the international order, Macron suggested, France and other European countries could step into the void, leading the charge against urgent global threats, such as climate change, poverty and inequality. “Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. Don’t accept our history unraveling,” Macron said. Macron focused on climate change as an issue that demanded “global mobilization” from other developed countries after Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, which aims to curb global warming by gradually reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. “The Paris agreement has stayed intact, and that is because we have decided to stay unified in spite of the U.S. decision to withdraw. This is power,” Macron said. “Let’s stop signing trade agreements with those who don’t comply with the Paris agreement,” he added, outlining a strategy that would isolate the United States. Speaking before Trump arrived at the podium, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented the rise of populism and a fraying of international cooperation – trends the U.S. president has fueled.