Since US President Donald Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly last year, the champion of an “America First” foreign policy has by most accounts taken control of a decision-making process once driven by members of the Washington establishment.
On Tuesday, speaking again to world leaders at the UN, Trump lambasted the “so-called experts who have been proven wrong over the years, time and time again.”
Sticking to a script that betrayed either a lack of awareness or an indifference to the audience at hand, Trump launched immediately into a characteristically hyperbolic exultation of his achievements since taking office, which was met with audible laughter.
“In less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” he touted, adding in response to chuckles from world leaders: “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay.”
Boasting of a strong stock market, progress towards erecting a border wall and increasing border security as well as a massive increase in military spending, Trump showered the hall with the same talking points that garner loud applause from his political base at campaign rallies.
“Our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before… In other words: our country will be a stronger, safer and a richer country than it was when I assumed office.”
“We are standing up for America and for the American people. And we are also standing up for the world.”
Cutting foreign aid
Standing up for the world, Trump insisted, would in large part require retreating from it, so that other “countries could step up to provide more funding to protect their interests.
“The United States is the world’s largest giver in the world – by far – of foreign aid. But few give anything to us,” he lamented. “Moving forward, we are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends.”
“The United States is committed to making the United Nations more effective and accountable,” Trump promised, adding that, to this end, “the United States will not pay more than 25% of the UN peacekeeping budget.”
Renegotiating trade agreements
In addition to getting other countries to commit more money for security, the US president stressed that his administration would continue its fight against trade abuses, pointing a finger at China.
“The United States opened our economy… yet other countries did not grant us fair and reciprocal access,” he claimed, continuing that trade deficits are the product of unfair trade practices.
Countries admitted to the World Trade Organization according to the speech, have since violated “every single principle” on which it is based.
“We have racked up $13 trillion in trade deficits over the last two decades, but those days are over. We will no longer tolerate such abuse, we will not allow our workers to be victimized, our companies to be cheated and our wealth to be plundered and transferred.”
Despite having “great affection for Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Trump said that America’s trade imbalance with China is “not acceptable… China’s market distortions and the way they deal cannot be tolerated.”
Trump praised what he has said are historic achievements in a renegotiated trade deal with South Korea, which was signed yesterday, and a partial agreement on trade with Mexico, announced last month.
Patriotism over globalism
Trump criticized the International Criminal Court for claiming near-universal jurisdiction, saying that the US “will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected unaccountable global bureaucracy.”
“We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.” Responsible nations, he added, “must defend against threats to sovereignty.”
In conclusion, Trump said sovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle that has ensured peace and democracy and that only through a protection of this principle will countries find ways to cooperate.
“So together, let us choose a future of patriotism, prosperity, and pride,” the President said, laying out a vision that stood in stark contrast to generations of presidential administrations’ use of the platform to advocate the spread of universal, liberal democratic values across the globe.
Despite its condescending tone, the article is right that Trump has taken foreign policy away from the failed (and unelected) Washington "elite" (who mostly represent themselves and some large industries, to the detriment of the average American). In this respect, he is representing the voters that voted for him. Crazy idea, huh?
Intrepretation, it was a warning. We are going to begin kicking the rest of the worlds ass, stealing their resources and bringing down their governments more efficiently and effectively. This was the last Unipolar speech. More Wars are coming. It won’t stop until someone starts bombing us.
The " hand outs ", the US gives is called "phantom aid", which in reality is hand out to herself. Israel is the only country that receives, what can truly be called selfless hand out.
Now the whole world will see the true color of US and be prepared for the worse to come.
Actually he said someting on the youtube after the phrase “In less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” then they laughed. I couldn’t make out what he said though, he mumbled it.
Obama mocked him in 2012… Only five years before he handed him the White House…
I doubt trump know what he is talking about. He wanted other nations to be more patriotic, and he expected all those nations that put their national interest abover everything to work well together?
Are you on crack sniffing glue? if you didn’t get the gist of his speech or didn’t pay attention to Pompeo/Bolton (doggy and pony) show few blocks down…it is about stirring the pot in Iran for the benefit of Israel….This is not about America first…it has always been for the benefit of Israel at the expense of America…If you remove the Red color on your cap you will see the Blue Star of David.
Yashad Rizvi
Hi! Big sausage idiot! China has stopped buying treasuries for close to three years now and in fact has reduced its treasuries holdings. You must have missed it while watching your wife entertaining others for 0.5 rmb each time.
Trumps speech was at a level of an 8th grader compare to other world leaders who spoke at Phd level. This guy has truely become the laughing stock of the world. From his self appreciation to the idiotic speech about the Iran threat (Read Bibi’s wet dream) was full of stomach churning garbage that you would expect from some banana republic and not certainly from the US. This Neocon infested regime has only one focus and thats Iran and perhaps the distant second is the economic shake up (I won’t call it trade war as he will back off soon) with China. Sometimes in an empire, you need Bafoons and incompetence to bring your empire down as in the case of Caligula in Rome. These are the last decades of this empire for sure when you see world leader laughing at you or mock you with disdain.
This is a declaration of War to the Soros and EU-SSR establishment. It’s about time.
Let them laugh. The eagle soars while the sparrows sqauwk. Nationalism is back on the world stage, patriotism and loyalty to one’s own as opposed to stale and filthy globalism. No more wars, no more interventions. Qual regio, qual religio.
You are right. And Trump is 72.
Hold it until November…
美国资本利益和国家利益开始出现重大分歧。
今后几年有好戏看了。
No wonder the audience laughed. What a joke. The US is the victim always giving hand outs while being beaten up by the rest of the world. The hand outs the US do give is to pay for vassal’s loyalty.
UN? So 20th century! It’s 73 already, it should retire.
While the ccp buys the US’s worthless paper.
Now tell me who is dumb ?
The PRESIDENCY of a leader——–Donald John Trump!!
Trump is right in that the current US trade deficits are unsustainable. The world should note that US is effectively bankrupt and there is no sense in supplying further its good and services to it. Trade diversification away from US is the key and only sensible thing to pursue.
US needs to devalue the U$, reduce its military expenditure and stop it hegemonic policies to mitigate its current implosion.