Trump critiqued mass migration and climate-related agendas in his UN assembly address, and later revealed a shift in stance on the Russia–Ukraine war.
President Donald Trump, in a Sept. 23 address to the United Nations General Assembly, denounced mass migration and climate-related agendas, which he described as globalist policies that are “destroying a large part of the free world.”
In a nearly hourlong speech, Trump said illegal immigration, particularly in Europe, was tearing apart the social fabric and endangering national security.
Meanwhile, he said policies aimed at curbing so-called climate change effectively enrich countries such as China at the expense of developed nations.
The president also accused the U.N. of not living up to its potential for peace-making.
Trump also participated in several bilateral meetings following the address, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After that meeting, Trump announced a major shift in his stance on the Russia–Ukraine war.
Here are seven key takeaways from Trump’s speech and bilateral meetings.
| 1. UN Did Not Contribute to Peace Deals |
| 2. Illegal Immigration ‘Destroying’ Countries |
| 3. Trump Targets Globalist Climate Policies |
| 4. New Optimism About Ukraine Retaking Territory |
| 5. Calls For NATO to Shoot Down Aerial Incursions |
| 6. European Allies Pressed to Drop Russian Energy |
| 7. Ending Biological, Nuclear Weapon Development |
1. UN Did Not Contribute to Peace Deals
Toward the beginning of his speech, Trump credited himself with bringing an end to seven conflicts so far this year, and with little to no help from the international organization.
In particular, he said his administration was instrumental in brokering deals to end armed conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand; Kosovo and Serbia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pakistan and India; Israel and Iran; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal,” he said.
Trump went on to say that the U.N. was failing to live up to its potential as a global peacemaker.
“At least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up,” he said. “It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war.”
2. Illegal Immigration ‘Destroying’ Countries
The president warned foreign leaders that failing to curtail illegal immigration endangers countries’ social and economic security.
“Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe if something is not done immediately,” Trump said. “This cannot be sustained.”
He said a country’s cultural heritage is threatened by open border policies that allow different religions and traditions to flood in unchecked.
“What makes the world so beautiful is that each country is unique,” Trump said. “But to stay this way, every sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders.”
Recent instances of mass migration are overwhelming some countries, and false asylum claims are problematic, he said.
“While we will always have a big heart for places and people that are struggling and truly compassionate … they have to solve the problem, and they have to solve it in their countries, not create new problems in our countries,” Trump said.
He cited European Council statistics that showed at least half of all inmates in Austria, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland in 2024 were immigrants or foreign nationals.
“When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum seekers who repay kindness … with crime, it’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders,” Trump said. “You have to end it now.”
The president also called out the U.N. for “funding an assault on Western countries” by offering cash support, food, shelter, and other assistance to migrants, including those traveling to the United States.
3. Trump Targets Globalist Climate Policies
Trump also took aim at what he described as globalist climate policy requiring successful, developed nations to harm themselves.
At one point, Trump said Europe had collectively reduced its carbon footprint by around 37 percent, but said Europe’s efforts were negated by a 54 percent increase in the global carbon footprint, driven heavily by China.
“Congratulations, Europe, great job. Cost yourself a lot of jobs, a lot of factories closed, but you reduced the carbon footprint by 37 percent. However, for all of that sacrifice and much more, it’s been totally wiped out, and then some,” he said.
Trump remarked that energy bills in Europe are four to five times what they are in China.
At another point, Trump compared heat-related deaths in the United States, where air-conditioning systems are prevalent, versus in Europe where such systems are less prevalent. While the United States has around 1,300 such deaths annually, Europe suffers around 175,000 a year.
“The entire globalist concept of asking successful industrialized nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies must be rejected completely and totally, and it must be immediate,” he said.
