‘Your countries are going to hell’: Trump lashes out at world leaders at UN
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump harshly criticized fellow world leaders Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly days after key allies of the United States recognized a Palestinian state, and as NATO vows to defend Europe amid recent Russian air incursions.
During his nearly hour-long address at the annual meeting in New York City, Trump briefly brushed on the Israel-Hamas war and his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the U.S. president focused much of his attention on the “double-tailed monster” of immigration and energy that he said will cause Europe to “fail.”
“Your countries are going to hell,” Trump said, later adding: “And I’m really good at predicting things.”
“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. And if you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail,” Trump continued.
Trump said the U.S. stands “ready to provide any country with abundant, affordable energy supplies if you need them, when most of you do,” and specifically encouraged the purchase of U.S. oil and gas.
The president attacked multilateral agreements to combat climate change, namely the Paris Climate Accord, and panned the overwhelmingly accepted science as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion.”
Trump blames UN for faulty escalator, teleprompter
Trump attacked the U.N. as a body numerous times throughout his speech, including for what he claimed were a faulty escalator and teleprompter Tuesday.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working. I feel very happy to be up here with you nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the heart, I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” Trump said at the top of his remarks.
Trump claimed he ended “seven wars” without the help of the U.N.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape. We both stood,” he said. “And then a teleprompter that didn’t work. These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.”
U.N. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock refuted Trump’s claim following his speech, saying, “As we are receiving queries, I would like to assure you that don’t worry, the U.N. teleprompters are working perfectly.”
Trump meets with Zelenskyy
Trump’s remarks came after negotiations to end Russia’s continued invasion into Ukraine have failed, despite Trump welcoming Putin to Alaska last month.
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for roughly an hour on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting Tuesday afternoon, where Trump said “we have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up. It’s pretty amazing actually.”
Zelenskyy said he would brief the president on “good news” from the battlefield and said “we will continue until Russia will stop this war.”
Zelenskyy also highlighted conversations with European leaders regarding cutting off dependence on Russian oil and gas.
When asked by the press if he thinks NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, Trump responded “Yes, I do,” according to journalists traveling with him.
Trump added it “depends on the circumstance” whether or not the U.S. would back up NATO allies.
When asked for an update on negotiations with Putin and if he still trusts the Russian president, Trump told reporters “I’ll let you know in about a month from now.”
Gaza crisis
The U.S. president’s speech to world leaders also comes after Israel all but blindsided the U.S. two weeks ago with a strike on Qatar, a key Middle East ally that hosts both a massive U.S. military presence as well as the Hamas political offices.
Trump received applause as he called for Hamas militants to release the remaining hostages kidnapped from Israel nearly two years ago during the group’s brutal attack. But he criticized any recognition of a Palestinian state as “a reward for these horrible atrocities.”
On Monday, France joined more than 150 countries to recognize Palestinian statehood. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal declared recognition Sunday.
Numerous world leaders, including those from Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and Jordan, spoke on the assembly floor Tuesday about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
More than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities. The U.N. has declared a famine in the roughly 25-mile-long coastal strip that borders Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
“The terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas are indefensible from any angle, but nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said before Trump took the floor.
“Under tons of rubble are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children. There we can see that international humanitarian law and the myth of ethical exceptionalism of the West are also being buried there. This massacre would not have happened without the complicity of those who could have prevented it,” da Silva said.
Trump touts mass deportations
Administration officials seated at the U.S. table in the assembly hall included Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and recently confirmed U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, according to journalists traveling with the president.
Trump touted his domestic policies, including mass deportations and sending federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to Democratic-led American cities.
“Our message is very simple, if you come illegally into the United States, you’re going to jail, or you’re going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that. You know what that means,” Trump said.
He then thanked the El Salvadoran government for its “successful and professional job they’ve done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country.”
The U.S. agreed to pay El Salvador $4.76 million in March to detain up to 300 immigrant men, many of them Venezuelan nationals, for up to a year at a notorious mega-prison where several maintain they faced physical and psychological torture. Many argue they were wrongfully deported and are not affiliated with criminal gangs the administration has targeted.
Brazil, Venezuela
Trump also lauded his global tariff policy as his strategy to “defend our sovereignty and security throughout the world, including against nations that have taken advantage of former U.S. administrations for decades.”
He called out da Silva by name, saying he and the Brazilian leader quickly agreed before he walked on the floor to meet next week.
“I’m very sorry to say this, Brazil is doing poorly and will continue to do poorly. They can only do well when they’re working with us,” Trump said.
Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods coming into the U.S. after its Supreme Court prosecuted former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup. Trump has dubbed the prosecution a “witch hunt.”
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the question in November on whether Trump’s sweeping global tariffs are legal.
Trump also remarked on the U.S. military’s increased activity in the Caribbean Sea.
“Let’s put it this way, people don’t like taking big loads of drugs in boats anymore,” he said, referring to recent deadly U.S. strikes on boats near the coast of Venezuela.
The administration alleges the boats are involved in illegal drug smuggling. Trump’s use of deadly military force against the vessels has drawn both criticism and praise from U.S. lawmakers.