Trump’s U.N. speech threatens Iran, largely spares Europe from criticism
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Donald Trump did not criticize Europe in his U.N. General Assembly speech. (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
There was nothing fundamentally new or unexpected in U.S.
President Donald
Trump’s U.N. General Assembly speech this year compared with his previous
addresses, CNN
correspondent Stephen Collinson wrote.
This year’s speech lacked the “fury and desire to shock”
that have characterized many of Trump’s international appearances, Collinson
wrote. From the U.N. General Assembly podium, Trump asked whether he should “destroy” Iran and returned to familiar themes, calling climate change a hoax
and boasting about U.S. power.
“It was shocking to hear the president of the United States
openly threaten from the podium of the United Nations to destroy a country,
which is considered a war crime,” New
York Times correspondent Farnaz Fassihi wrote.
Trump also said it was time to end Russia’s war against
Ukraine and hinted that he could use a new sanctions law allowing him to raise
tariffs on Russian goods.
The U.S. president warned of possible regime change in Cuba
and opposed efforts to regulate artificial intelligence that could undermine
U.S. power or its advantage in the field. He criticized the International
Criminal Court. His remark about Venezuela that “to the victor belong the
spoils” “echoes imperialist themes that show how different he is from most
modern presidents,” Collinson wrote.
New
York Times correspondent Michael Crowley noted that, unlike Trump,
generations of previous U.S. leaders had stressed that American foreign policy
interventions were not driven by material gain, particularly when it came to
control of foreign oil.
CNN
correspondent Betsy Klein also noted that Trump appeared to go off script to
praise his wife, Melania Trump, and her Fostering the Future Together initiative,
which focuses on children’s well-being and education. Trump said the first lady
had “secured the safe return of many displaced Ukrainian and Russian children.”
The opening of Trump’s speech, in which he touted his record
on the economy, immigration and reducing violent crime, sounded more like a
campaign speech, BBC
correspondent Sarah Smith wrote.
The
Guardian correspondent Jakub Krupa noted that Trump’s speech this year
contained little targeted criticism of Europe, “no doubt, much to the relief of
many European leaders in attendance or following from overseas.” Trump’s
remarks on European security in the context of the Greenland
agreement, NATO and plans to push for an end to Russia’s war against
Ukraine will likely be seen as a positive development, although they lacked
much detail, Krupa wrote.
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