Less than a week after his state visit to the UK, Donald Trump launched a surprise attack on the United Nations, revealing a starkly different persona from the one who fawned over the royals and praised the US-UK relationship. In a rambling 57-minute speech, the US president boasted, trashed international institutions, and whinged about everything from the UN’s failure to back his claims of ending wars to its refusal to award him a renovation contract for its New York headquarters. “I said at the time that I would do it for $500m, rebuilding everything, it would be beautiful,” he claimed.
Trump’s UN address was filled with familiar lies and false claims, including assertions that London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to introduce sharia law and that his own approval ratings are at an all-time high – in fact, they are at a second-term low. He told allied nations, “Your countries are going to hell,” denounced “the green energy scam,” and declared, “Trump was right about everything, and I don’t say that in a braggadocious way, but it’s true.” The speech, billed as an exposition of US power, instead showcased his narcissism and contempt for allies.
However, off-camera, Trump held potentially significant meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Arab and Muslim world leaders. He also made a striking U-turn on Ukraine, backing the shooting down of Russian planes violating European airspace, dismissing Russia as a paper tiger, and claiming Ukraine could win back all lost territory since 2022. He promised to supply weapons to Nato “for Nato to do what they want with them,” a move that could resolve months of negotiations. If Zelenskyy is correct that Trump is offering postwar military guarantees, this marks a substantial shift.
While some may view the UN speech as a smokescreen for domestic isolationist audiences, dismissing it as mere diversion would be foolish. The speech contained a clear argument about US power, albeit wrapped in lies and bravado. For Britain, the message is clear: Trump’s priorities are unpredictable and self-serving, and the UK should be wary of his volatile approach to international relations, especially as parallels emerge between his behaviour and that of Otto von Bismarck, the founder of modern Germany known for his charm, brutality, and shameless lying.
