Trump’s UN Home Run

Rarely has the UN hall heard a more honest appraisal of the global scene or a stronger vow of resolve to fight threats than President’s Trump’s first address to the General Assembly on Tuesday. “In over 30 years in my experience with the UN, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech,” tweeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nor could there have been a more stark contrast with the speeches his predecessor, Barack Obama, gave: Trump made no apologies for America’s past and even boasted of US exceptionalism. “America has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world,” he said.

And he unabashedly repeated his vows to put “America first.” Good for him.

Trump minced no words as he put Pyongyang on notice, labeling it a “depraved” regime and threatening to “totally destroy North Korea” if forced to.

“Rocket Man” — his pitch-perfect term for Kim Jong-un — “is on a suicide mission.” Hope Kim was paying attention.

Next up: Iran and its “murderous” mullahs. Obama’s nuke deal with Tehran “was one of the worst” ever, Trump said, promising the world hasn’t “heard the last of it.”

Nor did the president have any qualms about blaming Islamic extremism for terrorists. He said the actions of Syria’s “criminal regime,” including the use of chemical weapons, “shock the conscience.” And he slapped Russia and China (though not by name) for their aggression.

Another highlight: one of the most forthright takedowns of socialism ever from a world leader. He said Venezuela’s regime has “destroyed a prosperous nation by imposing a failed ideology that has produced poverty and misery everywhere it has been tried.”

Still, his larger point was upbeat: He noted the “extraordinary opportunity” the world faced, particularly given advances in science and medicine, and said it’s “entirely up to us whether we lift the world to new heights.”

That — and Trump’s honesty — was refreshing indeed. No wonder so many saw the speech as the best yet of his presidency.