Trump Slams United Nations, Global Migration & Climate Science in U.N. Speech #DemocracyNow!

On Tuesday, Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly at its headquarters in New York City, criticizing the international governing body, immigration and the science of climate change, while boasting about his presidency and the military power of the United States. In what became the longest U.N. speech ever made by a U.S. president, Trump bragged about ending “seven unendable wars” and said countries that do not crack down on immigration “are going to hell.” “Trump was speaking to a far-right international around the world,” says Washington Post journalist Ishaan Tharoor, who has covered all of Trump’s U.N. speeches since his first term in office.

This year’s UNGA was also marked by the growing recognition of Palestinian statehood by member nations. Western countries including France and the U.K. broke with decades of precedent in doing so, making the U.S. the only member of the U.N. Security Council not to recognize a Palestinian state. Tharoor comments on the significance and limitations of these announcements, and on Trump’s relationship with Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, who opened the UNGA just before Trump spoke.

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