President Donald Trump speaks during the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Sept. 23, 2025. Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

 Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a combative and wide-ranging address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, castigating the world body as outdated, ineffective, and failing to meet its founding ideals.

Trump questioned the relevance of the institution, asking delegates:
“What is the purpose of the United Nations? It’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”

He accused the organisation of standing idle while he claimed to have ended “seven wars” through direct negotiations with world leaders without UN involvement. According to Trump, not once did the organisation offer assistance in concluding such peace efforts.

The former president also mocked dysfunction at UN headquarters, complaining about a faulty teleprompter and a broken escalator he encountered before his remarks, using them as metaphors for the UN’s “deficiencies”.

Immigration, Climate, and Energy

While calling for peace and suggesting he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump’s tone often turned confrontational

He lectured European leaders on immigration, warning that their “inaction” was destroying their countries and cultural heritage, and dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, rejecting international climate efforts and urging countries to buy U.S. energy instead.

He declared that the “globalist concept” of industrial nations cutting emissions and “inflicting pain on themselves” must be “rejected completely and totally.”

NATO and Global Conflicts

Trump took credit for pressuring NATO allies to boost defence spending and for pushing European states to cut reliance on Russian oil. He expressed support for ending the war in Ukraine and the Israel–Hamas conflict in Gaza but avoided detailing concrete strategies to pressure Moscow or Tel Aviv into peace negotiations.

Controversial Claims About London

The speech drew additional criticism when Trump singled out London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, alleging that the UK capital was “moving toward Sharia law.” This claim, however, is false.

Fact-checks show similar claims about Sharia law in London have circulated online for years but have been repeatedly debunked. UK officials, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, condemned Trump’s remarks as “appalling and bigoted”, while Khan’s office refused to “dignify” them with a response. Sharia councils in the UK exist only for voluntary religious arbitration, and their decisions are not legally binding under British law.

A Speech for Domestic and Global Audiences

Observers noted that Trump’s remarks often seemed aimed as much at a U.S. political audience as at international leaders. He repeatedly referenced his administration’s immigration policies, criticised his successor Joe Biden, and presented his vision of a “new golden age” for America.

He told delegates: “I’ve come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation… but to get there, we must reject the failed approaches of the past.”

Record-Breaking Length

Trump’s address stretched for 56 minutes, far exceeding the customary 15-minute UNGA speaking slot. This made it the longest speech by any U.S. president at the UN, though it fell short of Yasser Arafat’s 1974 address (90 minutes) and Fidel Castro’s record 269-minute marathon in 1960.

Trump’s Own Verdict

Afterward, Trump insisted his speech was “well received” by world leaders. He described it as focused “very much on energy and migration/immigration”, while joking that the broken escalator and teleprompter “made the day more interesting than it would have been otherwise”.