United Nations
New York, New York
10:04 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President,
world leaders, and distinguished delegates: Welcome to New
York. It is a profound honor to stand here in my home city,
as a representative of the American people, to address the people
of the world.
As millions of our citizens continue to suffer the effects of
the devastating hurricanes that have struck our country, I want to
begin by expressing my appreciation to every leader in this room
who has offered assistance and aid. The American people are
strong and resilient, and they will emerge from these hardships
more determined than ever before.
Fortunately, the United States has done very well since Election
Day last November 8th. The stock market is at an all-time
high -- a record. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 16
years, and because of our regulatory and other reforms, we have
more people working in the United States today than ever before.
Companies are moving back, creating job growth the likes of
which our country has not seen in a very long time. And it
has just been announced that we will be spending almost $700
billion on our military and defense.
Our military will soon be the strongest it has ever been.
For more than 70 years, in times of war and peace, the
leaders of nations, movements, and religions have stood before this
assembly. Like them, I intend to address some of the very
serious threats before us today but also the enormous potential
waiting to be unleashed.
We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity.
Breakthroughs in science, technology, and medicine are curing
illnesses and solving problems that prior generations thought
impossible to solve.
But each day also brings news of growing dangers that threaten
everything we cherish and value. Terrorists and extremists
have gathered strength and spread to every region of the planet.
Rogue regimes represented in this body not only support
terrorists but threaten other nations and their own people with the
most destructive weapons known to humanity.
Authority and authoritarian powers seek to collapse the values,
the systems, and alliances that prevented conflict and tilted the
world toward freedom since World War II.
International criminal networks traffic drugs, weapons, people;
force dislocation and mass migration; threaten our borders; and new
forms of aggression exploit technology to menace our citizens.
To put it simply, we meet at a time of both of immense promise
and great peril. It is entirely up to us whether we lift the
world to new heights, or let it fall into a valley of
disrepair.
We have it in our power, should we so choose, to lift millions
from poverty, to help our citizens realize their dreams, and to
ensure that new generations of children are raised free from
violence, hatred, and fear.
This institution was founded in the aftermath of two world wars
to help shape this better future. It was based on the vision
that diverse nations could cooperate to protect their sovereignty,
preserve their security, and promote their prosperity.
It was in the same period, exactly 70 years ago, that the United
States developed the Marshall Plan to help restore Europe.
Those three beautiful pillars -- they’re pillars of peace,
sovereignty, security, and prosperity.
The Marshall Plan was built on the noble idea that the whole
world is safer when nations are strong, independent, and free.
As President Truman said in his message to Congress at that
time, “Our support of European recovery is in full accord with our
support of the United Nations. The success of the United
Nations depends upon the independent strength of its members.”
To overcome the perils of the present and to achieve the promise
of the future, we must begin with the wisdom of the past. Our
success depends on a coalition of strong and independent nations
that embrace their sovereignty to promote security, prosperity, and
peace for themselves and for the world.
We do not expect diverse countries to share the same cultures,
traditions, or even systems of government. But we do expect
all nations to uphold these two core sovereign duties: to
respect the interests of their own people and the rights of every
other sovereign nation. This is the beautiful vision of this
institution, and this is foundation for cooperation and
success.
Strong, sovereign nations let diverse countries with different
values, different cultures, and different dreams not just coexist,
but work side by side on the basis of mutual respect.
Strong, sovereign nations let their people take ownership of the
future and control their own destiny. And strong, sovereign
nations allow individuals to flourish in the fullness of the life
intended by God.
In America, we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,
but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch.
This week gives our country a special reason to take pride in
that example. We are celebrating the 230th anniversary of our
beloved Constitution -- the oldest constitution still in use in the
world today.
This timeless document has been the foundation of peace,
prosperity, and freedom for the Americans and for countless
millions around the globe whose own countries have found
inspiration in its respect for human nature, human dignity, and the
rule of law.
The greatest in the United States Constitution is its first
three beautiful words. They are: “We the people.”
Generations of Americans have sacrificed to maintain the promise
of those words, the promise of our country, and of our great
history. In America, the people govern, the people rule, and
the people are sovereign. I was elected not to take power,
but to give power to the American people, where it belongs.
In foreign affairs, we are renewing this founding principle of
sovereignty. Our government's first duty is to its people, to
our citizens -- to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to
preserve their rights, and to defend their values.
As President of the United States, I will always put America
first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always,
and should always, put your countries first.
(Applause.)
All responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own
citizens, and the nation-state remains the best vehicle for
elevating the human condition.
But making a better life for our people also requires us to work
together in close harmony and unity to create a more safe and
peaceful future for all people.
The United States will forever be a great friend to the world,
and especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken
advantage of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United
States gets nothing in return. As long as I hold this office,
I will defend America’s interests above all else.
But in fulfilling our obligations to our own nations, we also
realize that it’s in everyone’s interest to seek a future where all
nations can be sovereign, prosperous, and secure.
America does more than speak for the values expressed in the
United Nations Charter. Our citizens have paid the ultimate
price to defend our freedom and the freedom of many nations
represented in this great hall. America's devotion is
measured on the battlefields where our young men and women have
fought and sacrificed alongside of our allies, from the beaches of
Europe to the deserts of the Middle East to the jungles of
Asia.
It is an eternal credit to the American character that even
after we and our allies emerged victorious from the bloodiest war
in history, we did not seek territorial expansion, or attempt to
oppose and impose our way of life on others. Instead, we
helped build institutions such as this one to defend the
sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all.
For the diverse nations of the world, this is our hope. We
want harmony and friendship, not conflict and strife. We are
guided by outcomes, not ideology. We have a policy of
principled realism, rooted in shared goals, interests, and
values.
That realism forces us to confront a question facing every
leader and nation in this room. It is a question we cannot
escape or avoid. We will slide down the path of complacency,
numb to the challenges, threats, and even wars that we face.
Or do we have enough strength and pride to confront those
dangers today, so that our citizens can enjoy peace and prosperity
tomorrow?
If we desire to lift up our citizens, if we aspire to the
approval of history, then we must fulfill our sovereign duties to
the people we faithfully represent. We must protect our
nations, their interests, and their futures. We must reject
threats to sovereignty, from the Ukraine to the South China Sea.
We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and
respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow.
And just as the founders of this body intended, we must work
together and confront together those who threaten us with chaos,
turmoil, and terror.
The scourge of our planet today is a small group of rogue
regimes that violate every principle on which the United Nations is
based. They respect neither their own citizens nor the
sovereign rights of their countries.
If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil
will triumph. When decent people and nations become
bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power
and strength.
No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the
wellbeing of their own people than the depraved regime in North
Korea. It is responsible for the starvation deaths of
millions of North Koreans, and for the imprisonment, torture,
killing, and oppression of countless more.
We were all witness to the regime's deadly abuse when an
innocent American college student, Otto Warmbier, was returned to
America only to die a few days later. We saw it in the
assassination of the dictator's brother using banned nerve agents
in an international airport. We know it kidnapped a sweet
13-year-old Japanese girl from a beach in her own country to
enslave her as a language tutor for North Korea's spies.
If this is not twisted enough, now North Korea's reckless
pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the
entire world with unthinkable loss of human life.
It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with
such a regime, but would arm, supply, and financially support a
country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict. No
nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals
arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles.
The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is
forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but
to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide
mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is
ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary.
That’s what the United Nations is all about; that’s what the
United Nations is for. Let’s see how they do.
It is time for North Korea to realize that the denuclearization
is its only acceptable future. The United Nations Security
Council recently held two unanimous 15-0 votes adopting
hard-hitting resolutions against North Korea, and I want to thank
China and Russia for joining the vote to impose sanctions, along
with all of the other members of the Security Council. Thank
you to all involved.
But we must do much more. It is time for all nations to
work together to isolate the Kim regime until it ceases its hostile
behavior.
We face this decision not only in North Korea. It is far past
time for the nations of the world to confront another reckless
regime -- one that speaks openly of mass murder, vowing death to
America, destruction to Israel, and ruin for many leaders and
nations in this room.
The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the
false guise of a democracy. It has turned a wealthy country
with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue
state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.
The longest-suffering victims of Iran's leaders are, in fact,
its own people.
Rather than use its resources to improve Iranian lives, its oil
profits go to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill
innocent Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli
neighbors. This wealth, which rightly belongs to Iran's
people, also goes to shore up Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship, fuel
Yemen's civil war, and undermine peace throughout the entire Middle
East.
We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing
activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide
by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction
of a nuclear program. (Applause.) The Iran Deal was one
of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has
ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to
the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it --
believe me.
It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that
Iran's government end its pursuit of death and destruction.
It is time for the regime to free all Americans and citizens
of other nations that they have unjustly detained. And above
all, Iran's government must stop supporting terrorists, begin
serving its own people, and respect the sovereign rights of its
neighbors.
The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want
change, and, other than the vast military power of the United
States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most.
This is what causes the regime to restrict Internet access,
tear down satellite dishes, shoot unarmed student protestors, and
imprison political reformers.
Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come
when the Iranian people will face a choice. Will they
continue down the path of poverty, bloodshed, and terror? Or
will the Iranian people return to the nation's proud roots as a
center of civilization, culture, and wealth where their people can
be happy and prosperous once again?
The Iranian regime's support for terror is in stark contrast to
the recent commitments of many of its neighbors to fight terrorism
and halt its financing.
In Saudi Arabia early last year, I was greatly honored to
address the leaders of more than 50 Arab and Muslim nations.
We agreed that all responsible nations must work together to
confront terrorists and the Islamist extremism that inspires
them.
We will stop radical Islamic terrorism because we cannot allow
it to tear up our nation, and indeed to tear up the entire
world.
We must deny the terrorists safe haven, transit, funding, and
any form of support for their vile and sinister ideology. We
must drive them out of our nations. It is time to expose and
hold responsible those countries who support and finance terror
groups like al Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Taliban and others that
slaughter innocent people.
The United States and our allies are working together throughout
the Middle East to crush the loser terrorists and stop the
reemergence of safe havens they use to launch attacks on all of our
people.
Last month, I announced a new strategy for victory in the fight
against this evil in Afghanistan. From now on, our security
interests will dictate the length and scope of military operations,
not arbitrary benchmarks and timetables set up by
politicians.
I have also totally changed the rules of engagement in our fight
against the Taliban and other terrorist groups. In Syria and
Iraq, we have made big gains toward lasting defeat of ISIS.
In fact, our country has achieved more against ISIS in the
last eight months than it has in many, many years combined.
We seek the de-escalation of the Syrian conflict, and a political
solution that honors the will of the Syrian people. The
actions of the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad, including the
use of chemical weapons against his own citizens -- even innocent
children -- shock the conscience of every decent person. No
society can be safe if banned chemical weapons are allowed to
spread. That is why the United States carried out a missile
strike on the airbase that launched the attack.
We appreciate the efforts of United Nations agencies that are
providing vital humanitarian assistance in areas liberated from
ISIS, and we especially thank Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon for their
role in hosting refugees from the Syrian conflict.
The United States is a compassionate nation and has spent
billions and billions of dollars in helping to support this effort.
We seek an approach to refugee resettlement that is designed
to help these horribly treated people, and which enables their
eventual return to their home countries, to be part of the
rebuilding process.
For the cost of resettling one refugee in the United States, we
can assist more than 10 in their home region. Out of the
goodness of our hearts, we offer financial assistance to hosting
countries in the region, and we support recent agreements of the
G20 nations that will seek to host refugees as close to their home
countries as possible. This is the safe, responsible, and
humanitarian approach.
For decades, the United States has dealt with migration
challenges here in the Western Hemisphere. We have learned
that, over the long term, uncontrolled migration is deeply unfair
to both the sending and the receiving countries.
For the sending countries, it reduces domestic pressure to
pursue needed political and economic reform, and drains them of the
human capital necessary to motivate and implement those
reforms.
For the receiving countries, the substantial costs of
uncontrolled migration are borne overwhelmingly by low-income
citizens whose concerns are often ignored by both media and
government.
I want to salute the work of the United Nations in seeking to
address the problems that cause people to flee from their homes.
The United Nations and African Union led peacekeeping
missions to have invaluable contributions in stabilizing conflicts
in Africa. The United States continues to lead the world in
humanitarian assistance, including famine prevention and relief in
South Sudan, Somalia, and northern Nigeria and Yemen.
We have invested in better health and opportunity all over the
world through programs like PEPFAR, which funds AIDS relief; the
President's Malaria Initiative; the Global Health Security Agenda;
the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery; and the Women Entrepreneurs
Finance Initiative, part of our commitment to empowering women all
across the globe.
We also thank -- (applause) -- we also thank the Secretary
General for recognizing that the United Nations must reform if it
is to be an effective partner in confronting threats to
sovereignty, security, and prosperity. Too often the focus of
this organization has not been on results, but on bureaucracy and
process.
In some cases, states that seek to subvert this institution's
noble aims have hijacked the very systems that are supposed to
advance them. For example, it is a massive source of
embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments with
egregious human rights records sit on the U.N. Human Rights
Council.
The United States is one out of 193 countries in the United
Nations, and yet we pay 22 percent of the entire budget and more.
In fact, we pay far more than anybody realizes. The
United States bears an unfair cost burden, but, to be fair, if it
could actually accomplish all of its stated goals, especially the
goal of peace, this investment would easily be well worth it.
Major portions of the world are in conflict and some, in fact,
are going to hell. But the powerful people in this room,
under the guidance and auspices of the United Nations, can solve
many of these vicious and complex problems.
The American people hope that one day soon the United Nations
can be a much more accountable and effective advocate for human
dignity and freedom around the world. In the meantime, we
believe that no nation should have to bear a disproportionate share
of the burden, militarily or financially. Nations of the
world must take a greater role in promoting secure and prosperous
societies in their own regions.
That is why in the Western Hemisphere, the United States has
stood against the corrupt and destabilizing regime in Cuba and
embraced the enduring dream of the Cuban people to live in freedom.
My administration recently announced that we will not lift
sanctions on the Cuban government until it makes fundamental
reforms.
We have also imposed tough, calibrated sanctions on the
socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, which has brought a once
thriving nation to the brink of total collapse.
The socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has inflicted
terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country.
This corrupt regime destroyed a prosperous nation by imposing
a failed ideology that has produced poverty and misery everywhere
it has been tried. To make matters worse, Maduro has defied
his own people, stealing power from their elected representatives
to preserve his disastrous rule.
The Venezuelan people are starving and their country is collapsing.
Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. This
situation is completely unacceptable and we cannot stand by and
watch.
As a responsible neighbor and friend, we and all others have a
goal. That goal is to help them regain their freedom, recover
their country, and restore their democracy. I would like to
thank leaders in this room for condemning the regime and providing
vital support to the Venezuelan people.
The United States has taken important steps to hold the regime
accountable. We are prepared to take further action if the
government of Venezuela persists on its path to impose
authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people.
We are fortunate to have incredibly strong and healthy trade
relationships with many of the Latin American countries gathered
here today. Our economic bond forms a critical foundation for
advancing peace and prosperity for all of our people and all of our
neighbors.
I ask every country represented here today to be prepared to do
more to address this very real crisis. We call for the full
restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela.
(Applause.)
The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly
implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented.
(Applause.) From the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela,
wherever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it has
delivered anguish and devastation and failure. Those who
preach the tenets of these discredited ideologies only contribute
to the continued suffering of the people who live under these cruel
systems.
America stands with every person living under a brutal regime.
Our respect for sovereignty is also a call for action.
All people deserve a government that cares for their safety,
their interests, and their wellbeing, including their
prosperity.
In America, we seek stronger ties of business and trade with all
nations of good will, but this trade must be fair and it must be
reciprocal.
For too long, the American people were told that mammoth
multinational trade deals, unaccountable international tribunals,
and powerful global bureaucracies were the best way to promote
their success. But as those promises flowed, millions of jobs
vanished and thousands of factories disappeared. Others gamed
the system and broke the rules. And our great middle class,
once the bedrock of American prosperity, was forgotten and left
behind, but they are forgotten no more and they will never be
forgotten again.
While America will pursue cooperation and commerce with other
nations, we are renewing our commitment to the first duty of every
government: the duty of our citizens. This bond is the
source of America's strength and that of every responsible nation
represented here today.
If this organization is to have any hope of successfully
confronting the challenges before us, it will depend, as President
Truman said some 70 years ago, on the "independent strength of its
members." If we are to embrace the opportunities of the
future and overcome the present dangers together, there can be no
substitute for strong, sovereign, and independent nations --
nations that are rooted in their histories and invested in their
destinies; nations that seek allies to befriend, not enemies to
conquer; and most important of all, nations that are home to
patriots, to men and women who are willing to sacrifice for their
countries, their fellow citizens, and for all that is best in the
human spirit.
In remembering the great victory that led to this body's
founding, we must never forget that those heroes who fought against
evil also fought for the nations that they loved.
Patriotism led the Poles to die to save Poland, the French to
fight for a free France, and the Brits to stand strong for
Britain.
Today, if we do not invest ourselves, our hearts, and our minds
in our nations, if we will not build strong families, safe
communities, and healthy societies for ourselves, no one can do it
for us.
We cannot wait for someone else, for faraway countries or
far-off bureaucrats -- we can't do it. We must solve our
problems, to build our prosperity, to secure our futures, or we
will be vulnerable to decay, domination, and defeat.
The true question for the United Nations today, for people all
over the world who hope for better lives for themselves and their
children, is a basic one: Are we still patriots? Do we
love our nations enough to protect their sovereignty and to take
ownership of their futures? Do we revere them enough to
defend their interests, preserve their cultures, and ensure a
peaceful world for their citizens?
One of the greatest American patriots, John Adams, wrote that
the American Revolution was "effected before the war commenced.
The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the
people."
That was the moment when America awoke, when we looked around
and understood that we were a nation. We realized who we
were, what we valued, and what we would give our lives to defend.
From its very first moments, the American story is the story
of what is possible when people take ownership of their future.
The United States of America has been among the greatest forces
for good in the history of the world, and the greatest defenders of
sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all.
Now we are calling for a great reawakening of nations, for the
revival of their spirits, their pride, their people, and their
patriotism.
History is asking us whether we are up to the task. Our
answer will be a renewal of will, a rediscovery of resolve, and a
rebirth of devotion. We need to defeat the enemies of
humanity and unlock the potential of life itself.
Our hope is a word and -- world of proud, independent nations
that embrace their duties, seek friendship, respect others, and
make common cause in the greatest shared interest of all: a
future of dignity and peace for the people of this wonderful
Earth.
This is the true vision of the United Nations, the ancient wish
of every people, and the deepest yearning that lives inside every
sacred soul.
So let this be our mission, and let this be our message to the
world: We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand
together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for
humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the nations of
the world. And God bless the United States of America.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END
10:46 A.M. EDT
The Meaning
of Trump’s “America First”
Sep 20,
2017
RUSH: AP: “Trump
Insists on America First. Who Will Follow?” Let me tell you
something about this America first. What do you think Trump means
by it? (interruption) Yeah, yeah, yeah, he does. But it’s not just
that. I actually heard Trump explain this and some people in
Trump’s administration explain this. Fox has this analyst that
appears on some of the shows. She worked in the National Security
Council. She’s on the staff I think for Obama. And she was talking
about this, and she had heard exactly what I heard.
And what Trump means by this, America first, also means the U.K.
people being U.K. first, and in Belgium, Belgium first. Trump’s
belief, it’s exactly what I said yesterday. Trump believes that if
every nation believes in itself rather than believes in being
subordinate and subservient to a global organization, the whole
world is gonna be better, with everybody trying to be the best they
can be. He
doesn’t mean put America first over everybody else. But he says
compared to the world and global organizations, screw that; I’m
going to do what’s best for America. And he further explained, I
think the Brits ought to do what’s best for them.
The theory is that in all of the western democracies and free
nations there’s enough commonality that these nations banding
together to put themselves first has a lot of commonality. The way
it was explained, it made sense. I remember watching Gillian
Turner, she was saying (paraphrasing), “When I heard this, it
completely changed my view of Trump on this. He fleshed this out
for me in a way that I had not understood it.” And she sounded like
she was supportive of the whole thing, when of course liberals hate
the concept of America first, ’cause they don’t think America
deserves it. America’s too guilty. America still has too many
prices to pay. America first, that’s arrogant and braggadocios, and
we don’t deserve it, in their view.
And so this piece in the AP, “Well, who’s gonna follow?” Meaning
Trump is hated, Trump is despised, so Trump putting America first
is gonna isolate the country. The writer here is Josh Lederman. I’m
not gonna share the piece. The guy is just totally off the wall and
wrong, as most of them are. They’re not even making an effort to
understand what Trump actually means with the things that he says,
but his voters do.
His voters, 80% of Republicans understand it and they love it
and they support it. And they don’t think America’s guilty. And
they don’t think America has a price to pay. And they don’t think
the world is better off with America being weakened. And they don’t
think the world’s better off with America being portrayed as a
problem in the world. They think just the exact opposite, as Trump
does.