Donald Trump delivered a highly controversial 58-minute speech to the UN General Assembly, dramatically exceeding his allocated 15-minute slot and shocking international delegates with attacks on climate science, open borders, and global institutions. The US President's rambling address challenged foundational UN principles and sparked immediate international backlash.
Trump called climate change "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world" and dismissed renewable energy as ineffective and expensive. City A.M reports that his teleprompter malfunctioned during the speech, leading to more improvised and controversial remarks that visibly disturbed UN delegates.
International Backlash
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received strong applause when he responded: "Might cannot be right; right must be right. No one country can bully the whole of the human family." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and criticised those silent about his actions.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had earlier warned about rising authoritarianism without naming the US directly. He said: "Today the ideals that inspired the UN's founders are under threat as never before in their history."
Trump specifically targeted London and Mayor Sadiq Khan (Labour), claiming the city "wants to go to sharia law" and calling Khan a "terrible mayor". The attacks contradicted reports of record numbers of US citizens currently moving to London.
Market and Diplomatic Impact
Clean energy stocks and exchange-traded funds traded lower following Trump's climate denial rhetoric, according to Yahoo News. UN delegates showed visible negative reactions during controversial segments of the speech, with reports of gasping and uncomfortable shifting.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged that multilateralism was suffering and warned that "multipolarity without effective multilateral institutions courts chaos". He referenced Europe's experience leading to World War One as a historical warning.
Global Leadership Crisis
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emerged as a leading European voice opposing Trump's approach, defending migration and open societies at Columbia University. He said: "Open societies are the best antidote to fanaticism" and warned that "losing the freedom to dissent is opening the door to tyranny."
Sánchez is convening with Lula and Chile's Gabriel Boric this week for an alliance entitled "In Defence of Democracy", focusing on reinforcing multilateralism and combating extremism. However, these global alliances remain in their infancy and poorly coordinated.
The speech highlighted how Trump's presidency has reduced international politics to discussions about relating to and challenging American power. Each nation must now decide whether to combat or bow to Trump's "shakedown diplomacy" that mixes trade, security and immigration into single negotiations.
Sources used: "The Guardian", "MyLondon", "City A.M", "Yahoo News"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
