President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the U.N. General Assembly’s general debate at U.N. Headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
U.S. President Donald Trump spent most of his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday criticizing other countries’ handling of immigration and energy, describing climate change as the “greatest con job ever.”
He simultaneously praised his own record on these issues, touting reduced crossings at the southern border and a renewed focus on using “clean, beautiful coal.”
“The immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of western Europe if something is not done immediately,” he said.
Trump was the fourth speaker at the start of the U.N. General Assembly’s general debate, which started Tuesday morning. Each speaker was allowed 15 minutes at the podium, but Trump spoke for just shy of an hour, also addressing biological and nuclear weapons, crime, drug and human trafficking, tariffs, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Trump said that though he loves Europe, it “is in serious trouble” due to undocumented migrants “pouring in.” Describing Europe’s immigration policies as a “failed experiment of open borders,” Trump told those in attendance at the general debate, “your countries are going to hell.”
He specifically called out London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s views on immigration, calling him a “terrible mayor.”
Trump took issue with migrants entering countries where the ways of life are different. For instance, he accused Muslim migrants of wanting “to go to Sharia law,” the Islamic legal code.
“You are in a different country, you can’t do that,” Trump said.
Minutes after the conclusion of Trump’s speech, Khan’s office called the comments “appalling and bigoted.” British Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Khan is not trying to install Sharia law in the country.
Though Trump said no migrants were now crossing the southern border illegally under his administration, border officials said more than 9,700 people were apprehended at the border in August, according to The New York Times. That is, however, a marked reduction in numbers compared to a year ago, when 107,000 were apprehended in August 2024 during the Biden administration.
Trump then turned to climate change and renewable energy, which he called the “green scam.” He said European countries are losing money switching to renewable sources of energy to meet goals set by the Paris Agreement on climate change. Meanwhile, he said, other countries, such as China, are taking advantage by continuing to use cheaper fossil fuels.
Together, politics on immigration and renewable energy are “destroying a large part of the free world,” Trump said.
Early on in his speech, Trump addressed one of the biggest developments taking place on the sidelines of the general debate — the recognition of Palestine.
At an international peace summit hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron formally recognized Palestine. His announcement was joined by the countries of Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and San Marino, and Australia, Britain and Canada made their own declarations Sunday.
“The time has come for Israel to live in peace and security,” Macron said, sharing his support for a two-state solution to the conflict. “The time has come to give justice to the Palestinian people and to recognize the state of Palestine.”
Trump said recognizing Palestine “would be a reward” for Hamas, which still holds hostages from its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“Release the hostages now,” Trump said to applause.
A growing majority of UN member states – now at least 151 – officially recognize the state of Palestine following new declarations by France, Belgium and others in New York on Monday. The shift marks a major symbolic turning point amid the ongoing war in Gaza and rising pressure on global institutions to address Palestinian statehood.
(UPI)