Trump tells U.N.: ‘Put your countries first’
He foresees cooperation when interests converge
He called North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man,” Iran’s rulers a “murderous regime” and Venezuela “corrupt.”
Those will be the headlines from President Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, and for good reason. It was perhaps the most aggressive speech ever delivered by a U.S. president at an organization whose founding document en- couraged the nations of the world to seek peace, promote human rights and uphold international law.
Amid the provocative language, the address articulated Trump’s worldview. He envi-
sions an international order in which each nation pursues its own self-interests — and cooperates when those interests converge.
That philosophy has rankled NATO allies, upended trade deals and pulled the world’s secondlargest carbon polluter out of the Paris climate agreement.
At the United Nations, Trump wanted the other 192 members to know: It’s not just “America First.” It’s every nation first.
“As president of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always — and should always — put your countries first,” he told the other delegations to a round of applause.
“Strong, sovereign nations,” he said in a phrase he repeatedly emphasized, “let their people take ownership of the future and control their own destiny.”
It’s a reversal in tone from the opening of general debate at the United Nations 364 days earlier, when President Obama presented a theme of “cooperation and integration.” Obama warned of “a crude populism — sometimes from the far left but more often from the far right — which seeks to restore what they believe was a better, simpler age free of outside contamination.”
As its most important founder, host nation and largest financial contributor, the United States has always had an outsized influence on the world body. Most U.S. presidents have walked a diplomatic tightrope, trying to use persuasion and an appeal to common values to prod the United Nations to action.
Trump called for “a great reawakening of nations” to address the world’s problems. “If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph,” he said.
Trump’s speech was a reminder that such addresses have a domestic, as well as an international, audience. He began by talking about his election victory, the stock market’s record high, good job numbers and his defense budget. He ended with a tribute to the “forgotten” American middle class.