Trump to the world: Go to Hell!

If you were a diplomat listening to President Donald J. Trump’s speech at the United Nations on September 23, you probably would have had these reactions:

· This guy has lost his grip on reality

· Trump is insulting me and my country

· He is running a dangerous, rogue state

· We should develop closer ties with China, fast

Trump’s bizarre, rambling diatribe at the UN was not only an embarrassment for the United States on the world stage. This was also a missed opportunity to rebuild bridges with the countries that are suffering whiplash from Trump’s punitive tariffs. The President is accelerating the US’ isolation, at a time when America needs allies to counter China’s growing economic and political clout.

Detached From Reality

Trump seems to have retreated into a fantasy world where he can do and say whatever he wants. Trump believes--truly believes--that he is omnipotent and omniscient. Furthermore, he thinks that the rules of diplomacy and decorum do not apply to him and the US is not bound by international law.

The President did not tailor his remarks to the occasion. He gave a speech that might be suitable for a MAGA rally, but not for a gathering of foreign diplomats and heads of state. His delivery was inappropriate. He spoke in a conversational but often belligerent tone. He jumped abruptly from one topic to another.

Trump’s meandering talk was filled with blatant lies and irrelevant asides. He dismissed climate change as “the biggest con job ever perpetrated on the world”. The President attacked European countries, saying “your countries are going to hell” because (in his view) they are wasting their time on renewable energy projects and allowing illegal immigrants to overrun their countries.

In case anyone doubted him, Trump reminded the audience that “I have been right on everything”.

Addressing the Wrong Audience

In the petty grievance department, Trump complained, at great length, about losing a bid to renovate the UN buildings decades ago, when he was a real estate developer in New York City. That was irrelevant and hardly statesmanlike.

Trump’s approach enthralls his cult-like followers, many of whom are not well-educated and are driven by hatred and resentment of immigrants. But at the UN, Trump was addressing a group of sophisticated, well-informed diplomats and leaders. They know that climate change is an existential threat to the planet and that they must control immigration.

They fear Trump, no doubt, but they do not respect him or the United States.

President Trump at the UN/photo: Getty Images

Trump talked about a sweeping array of topics during his speech. But he seemed especially out of step with other countries on two key issues: climate change and the US’ ability to attack drug smugglers on the high seas. The President also engaged in a long, ugly rant about immigration.

Tilting at Windmills

Trump devoted about one-fourth of his speaking time to ridiculing the concept of climate change (“made by stupid people”). He referred scornfully to “the green energy scam” and dismissed renewable energy projects as useless. The President mentioned, once again, how much he dislikes windmills, and he suggested that environmentalists are “trying to kill all the cows”.

“The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions and they’re heading down a path of total destruction.”

Trump is the only leader of a major country who rejects the reality of climate change. He is the only one who refuses to accept the overwhelming scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change.

In his second term, as in his first, the President ordered the US to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on fighting climate change. Under this voluntary agreement, 200 countries have committed to reduce their emissions from fossil fuels. When the withdrawal takes effect in January 2026, the US will join the tiny group of nations that do not participate in the Paris Agreement: Iran, Libya and Yemen.

Does Trump deny the threat of climate change because fossil fuel companies contributed $250 million to his presidential campaign? Is he still furious because Scottish voters approved an offshore windfarm that is visible from one of his golf courses? Is Trump simply trying to peddle US oil and gas?

Loss of Credibility

In the end, Trump’s motives for attacking green energy don’t matter much. When he lectured other leaders on climate change, talking about “clean, beautiful coal”, he suffered a massive loss of credibility. Wind and solar power projects produce energy that is cleaner, more reliable and cheaper than oil, gas or coal. In large part that is because Chinese companies have driven down the costs for these installations, as they achieved large economies of scale.

Most countries—including Western European nations, China and India--do not have large domestic reserves of fossil fuels. They want to reduce their dependence on coal, the dirtiest energy source, as well as oil and gas. They also want to lessen their reliance on foreign energy sources, for national security and financial reasons. For them, wind and solar power projects are attractive alternatives to fossil fuels.

China Leads on Green Energy

Here is a sharp contrast with Trump’s Luddite views on energy: President Xi Jinping told the UN General Assembly the day after Trump’s talk that China would increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels in its energy system to more than 30% over the next decade. Xi added that China would expand its wind and solar capacity by six times from the 2020 level. He also announced that China would cut its carbon dioxide and other pollution by 7-10% by 2035.

China is finally acting like a responsible global citizen when it comes to climate change, after years of building more coal-burning plants. China has a vested interest in promoting green energy, of course, because its companies have spent vast sums on factories that produce the necessary components. Nonetheless, China has a forward-looking view on climate change, and it can help countries expand and improve their energy systems.

Meanwhile, Trump is dismantling the Biden administration’s program of tax incentives and cash grants designed to help US companies compete with Chinese firms in the green energy and electric vehicle industries. The Chinese might have dominated those industries globally in any event, but Trump has made it almost impossible for US companies to challenge them. He is forfeiting a huge commercial opportunity and sacrificing Americans’ health.

A License to Kill

The UN sets a customary, 15-minute time limit on speeches at the General Assembly, but the President spoke for 56 minutes. That was almost four times his allotted speaking time. The message was clear: the rules do not apply to me.

Then, more ominously, Trump made it clear that international law does not apply to the United States. “We will blow you out of existence”, the President said, as a warning to gangs transporting drugs out of Venezuela. In a dark, chilling moment, Trump gloated, “Let’s just say, people don’t like taking big loads of drugs on boats anymore.” He then added, nonsensically, “There aren’t many boats traveling on the seas by Venezuela. “

The President added that his administration was “using the supreme power of the United States military to destroy Venezuelan terrorists” (emphasis added). This seems to be his sole justification for these unprovoked attacks on civilian vessels: we have the power, so we will do this. Trump is giving the US armed forces a license to kill non-combatants.

But the United States has no legal basis for attacking the boats and killing their crews, either under US or international law. Drug dealers are horrible criminals, but they are not terrorists under American law. Drug traffickers are not soldiers; killing them on the high seas is murder.

It’s ironic and tragic. Trump does not want the US to be the world’s policeman anymore. But he thinks it is fine for the US to act as an enforcer, free of any legal constraints. He is turning the US into a rogue, lawless state.

UN’s “Assault” on Western Civilization

The President spent almost as much time ranting about immigration as he did about climate change. Trump accused European leaders of being lax on immigration:

“You’re destroying your 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.”

It’s not exactly breaking news for European leaders that their countries have a problem with immigration. They are keenly aware of the public backlash that large flows of immigrants have caused in their nations. They have all clamped down on immigration. Unlike Trump, they are generally trying to control immigration in a humane, civilized fashion.

Trump even attacked the UN for supposedly financing an attack on Western civilization:

“Your countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders. In 2024, the UN budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States. Think of that, the UN is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out.”

Trump was referring to the UN’s programs for providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. These are mostly people fleeing wars or massive natural disasters, like famines. His remarks were racist and anti-Muslim...and guaranteed to offend almost everyone in the General Assembly.

Great PR for China

Trump’s tirade at the UN was a public relations gift to China. Trump came across as an arrogant, ignorant bully. He showed nothing but contempt for the rest of the world and the rule of law. Instead of mollifying the US’ allies, he insulted them.

Trump has cut almost all international aid. Meanwhile, China funds development projects throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America (often with hidden costs, but that’s a topic for another article). As the President imposes crushing tariffs, China presents itself as a reliable trading partner.

At the UN, Trump boasted that the US was “entering a new Golden Age”. Instead, he may help to make this the “Chinese Century”.

The Wall Street Democrat