US President Donald Trump took the stage at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, delivering a sweeping speech that touched on foreign policy, immigration, climate change and more.
He attacked friends and rivals alike, while making controversial – and often factually inaccurate – assertions.
Here’s a look at some of his key comments and arguments – and how they hold up against the facts.
Trump kicked off his speech with a lighthearted comment about a non-functional teleprompter, noting that he did not mind that it was not working.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” Trump said.
“I feel very happy to be up here with you, nevertheless. And that way, you speak more from the heart. I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
Trump said that nations that were more welcoming of immigrants than the US under him were “destroying” their countries.
“They’re being destroyed. Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe.”
Trump then referred to his administration’s policies towards migrants and asylum seekers.
“You have to end it now – I can tell you. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.”
“Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border, and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, he also said that in “four months in a row, the number of illegal aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero”.
Trump criticised Washington’s NATO allies for continuing to buy Russian energy, while urging Europe to step up pressure on Moscow over its war on Ukraine.
“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil, but inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products,” Trump said.
“For those tariffs to be effective, European nations – all of you are gathered here right now – would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures,” Trump said.
“I mean, you’re much closer to this. See, we have an ocean in between. You’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing,” he added.
Trump also returned to his longstanding criticism of climate science.
“If you look back years ago, in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said global cooling will kill the world,” Trump said.
“Then they said global warming will kill the world, but then it started getting cooler. So now, they just call it climate change because that way, they can’t miss. Climate change – because if it goes higher or lower, whatever the hell happens, there’s climate change.”
“It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you’re involved in that. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong.”
“If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail, and I’m really good at predicting things,” he added.
Trump cast himself as a global peacemaker.
“I ended seven wars. And in all cases, they were raging, with countless thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda – a vicious, violent war that was – Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Trump said.
“There’s never been anything like that. Very honoured to have done it. It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” he said.
“And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them… All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle.”
“Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace,” Trump said.
“We can’t forget October 7th, can we?” he asked, referring to the 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, after which Israel launched a brutal war on the Gaza Strip.
“Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities,” Trump added.
“This could have been solved so long ago. But instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: Release the hostages now.”
REUTERS
