‘Rocket Man’ Kim on a ‘suicide mission,’ Trump warns United Nations
NEW YORK — Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “total destruction,” using his debut United Nations speech Tuesday to warn hostile nations and defend his America First policy.
“Major portions of the world are in conflict, and some, in fact, are going to hell,” the U.S. president said in a speech that began with talk of opportunity and promise but then segued into warnings about “the wicked few” who spread “evil” — referencing extremists, authoritarian regimes and criminal networks.
Trump described terrorists as “losers” and sparked mirth when he referred to North Korea’s Kim Jongun as the “Rocket Man … on a suicide mission.”
His speech was seen as a return to George W. Bush’s Axis of Evil philosophy — but this time, the axis only featured Iran and North Korea. However, his emphasis on working together to tackle rogue states was at times at odds with his repeated insistence on the value of sovereign nation states working in their own interests.
With the North Korean delegation sitting in the front row — a quirk of this year’s rotating seating plan — Trump delivered, as expected, a stern warning to Pyongyang.
“No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea,” Trump said, accusing Kim of orchestrating starvation, torture and murder.
“If this is not twisted enough, now North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life. The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Trump, however, stopped short of calling for regime change, which North Korea regards as the ultimate American intention and treats as a reason for its development of nuclear weapons.
He also urged nations to join to stop Iran’s nuclear program — he declared the deal to restrain it an “embarrassment” for the United States — and defeat “loser terrorists” who have struck violence across the globe. He denounced “radical Islamic terrorism,” an inflammatory label he has recently shied away from.
He accused Iran of financing terrorism in Syria and Yemen, in remarks greeted with delight by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who said: “In over 30 years, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech.”
The America First policy has been making many in the global organization nervous. Yet he received applause when he stated: “As president … I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.”