‘Your countries are going to hell’: Key takeaways from Trump's UN speech as he flags teleprompter failure, bad escalator
Here are key takeaways from US President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday. While addressing world leaders, Trump flagged a teleprompter failure and a faulty escalator, among other issues. This was Trump's first speech at the UNGA since 2020.
United States President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, 23 September, addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the first time since 2020. Speaking before world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, President Trump touched upon global migration, climate change and international diplomacy, while also mocking technical malfunctions at the venue.
The address, delivered without a functioning teleprompter and following an escalator malfunction, marked Trump's return to the UNGA stage after a five-year gap.
From criticising the allied nations over Gaza, to comments on environmental and climate change, here are the key highlights from President Donald Trump's UNGA speech.
Key highlights from Donald Trump's UNGA address
1. Ended wars: President Trump rejected calls by allied nations to back a Palestinian state amid Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza. He urged European nations to adopt the same set of economic sanctions he proposes against Russia, claiming such measures would help end the war in Ukraine.
“I'm really good at this stuff,” said Trump. “Your countries are going to hell.”
2. Climate change: Donald Trump dismissed climate change as the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” accusing international bodies of misleading the public.
“It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,” said Trump. “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong.”
“They were made by stupid people that have cost their country's fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success,” Trump said, referring to climate change predictions.
3. Criticises UN: President Trump criticised the United Nations for failing to live up to its potential, saying that all the international body does now is write “strong-worded” letters without follow-up actions.
“It's empty words and empty words don't solve wars,” said Trump.
He also claimed that the United States is the “hottest” and “best” country for business, boasting that the US economy is “bigger and even better” than during his first stint at the White House.
4. Teleprompter issue: Trump mocked the teleprompter failure during his speech, joking that the operator was in “big trouble.”
“I don't mind making this speech without a teleprompter because the teleprompter is not working,” said Trump.
“I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” Trump said with a laugh.
5. Broken Escalator: President Trump also commented on the escalator malfunction at the UN building, saying First Lady Melania Trump could have fallen if she were not in “great shape.”
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” he quipped.