By Ian Williams
The writer is the President of the Foreign Press Association in New York and a former President of the UN Correspondents’ Association.
NEW YORK | 24 September 2025 (IDN) — If Donald Trump had worn a gaudy uniform like Gaddafi, he might have pipped the Libyan leader for the most memorable UN speech—except the Colonel was more tethered to reality. Usually, speakers are escorted from the podium by the UN’s head of protocol; this time, I half expected the official to don a white coat and brandish a straitjacket.
Rambling and free-associating, President Pangloss rode his usual hobby horses around the ring, touching real issues only to misrepresent them, while casually insulting allies and member states. One can decry the platitudes of General Assembly speeches, but this was a case of anti-diplomacy at work.
I was mildly relieved, for the dignity of the United States, that he didn’t berate “fake news” for reporting on the size of his hands and other organs. Most of his other groundless obsessions, however, got walk-on parts. There was no mention of UN funding. And the ongoing mayhem in Gaza—sustained in part by repeated U.S. vetoes—had to be addressed by President Erdoğan immediately afterwards.
It was a horrific day for UN diplomacy and for the UN itself. Many delegates registered tangible shock and awe, though they might as well have been rolling in the aisles as the Emperor appeared, visibly, in his invisible new clothes.
Human Rights Groups Push Back
Amnesty International USA’s Executive Director, Paul O’Brien, said that in his address to global leaders, President Trump doubled down on anti-immigrant attacks, boasted about extrajudicial killings, and denied the reality of the global climate crisis. His speech, O’Brien said, was “riddled with harmful lies”—particularly about immigrants and asylum seekers—and promoted actions that threaten human rights.
Trump urged leaders, especially in Europe, to follow his lead and close their borders, claiming to save lives by turning away those seeking safety—when in fact such policies violate the human right to seek asylum. He added a line about defending free speech and expression, but his record—pressuring regulators to target media critics and seeking to deport those protesting for Palestinian rights—speaks louder.
A Low Point for Multilateralism
Trump also touted other human rights violations, from recent extrajudicial killings off the coast of Venezuela to the militarized takeover of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. These are hallmarks of authoritarian practice: fostering intimidation, reinforcing systemic racism, and heightening the risk of unlawful force.
Federico Borello, interim executive director at Human Rights Watch, noted that Trump made too many false claims about world affairs to rebut point by point, but the serious issue is his evident contempt for international institutions that promote human rights—institutions the U.S. helped create. However imperfect, the UN is essential for monitoring abuses, delivering aid, protecting refugees, and promoting accountability. Borello urged governments to reject Trump’s proposals to undermine the global asylum system and to step up funding for lifesaving UN programs in the face of U.S. withholding—lest the world abandon victims of abuses and war crimes and make it safer for dictators and kleptocrats.
Whatever one thinks of General Assembly rhetoric, Trump’s performance reduced multilateralism to a punchline. The UN’s purpose is not to flatter leaders but to constrain them—to insist on law, evidence, and the rights of those without power. On this day, those ideals had to be defended not from the usual suspects, but from the podium itself. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image credit: “Flags at United Nations” via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.