Preliminary
He stood on the United Nations table, like a commander unwilling to be controlled, breaking the rhythm, tearing the script. The vocabulary broke?
On September 23, 2025, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly should have ended dull as usual, but Trump's appearance made the originally calm diplomatic theater suddenly become like a boxing ring. He stood there, speaking fast and with full firepower, scolding the United Nations from the elevator to the Secretary-General, from Europe to Asia, from the climate agreement to military cooperation.
It’s not just a speech, it’s more like a global political “liquidation conference”.Trump directly transformed a multilateral diplomatic routine into a personal-style “American-style political show”.
But the question is, what is reflected behind this "show"? Is it the extreme amplification of Trump's personal style, or the deep turn of the global route of the United States? Did he swear, really just to scold? Today, let's talk about this "political explosion" that has attracted worldwide attention and the American logic behind it.
A diplomatic storm without a script, the strategic realities behind Trump’s “improvisation”
The most striking thing about this speech is not only the intense content, but its "sense of out of control". Starting from the teleprompter failure, Trump almost completely broke away from the conventional diplomatic routine, as if he was telling the global strategy of the United States in a "talk show" way.
But look carefully, his “improvisation” is not really improvisation.
He came up and accused the UN of “inefficiency” and “corruption across the board” and reversed the old accounts, saying that the repair budget he proposed in the year was cheaper.This statement, although it sounds like “complaining about property”, was actually intended to undermine the credibility of the UN, thereby paving the ground for the subsequent “unilateral action” by the US.
It's not that Trump doesn't understand diplomatic rules, but that he chooses not to abide by them anymore.
When he announced the third U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, he was shocked. But this withdrawal was a sign before he returned to the White House. During his campaign in 2024, he repeatedly stated that “the climate agenda is a global scam” and pledged to “end the Biden era’s environmentalism.”
He didn’t ignore the scientific basis for climate change, but instead chose to stand on a different political logic. Shaping environmental issues as a tool for “globalization” to crush the US economyThis sparked nationalist sentiment among local voters.
On climate issues, he has repeatedly quoted the unconfirmed number of "17.5 million people who died from green energy" and has achieved an effect despite the rejection by many parties such as the World Health Organization. I’m not afraid to blame the world, I’m only talking for the Americans.
What is more noteworthy is that he repeatedly emphasized in his speech that "the United States I lead is the strongest country in the world". This sentence is not a simple boast, but the essence of the whole Trumpism diplomacy. Reaffirm America’s dominance by creating conflict.
From "multilateralism" to "siderism"
Trump’s hostility to the United Nations is not new, but the peculiarity of this speech is that he not only ripped off the coat of multilateral cooperation, but also declared more directly: The U.S. is no longer the global backbone, the U.S. should choose the side side, the U.S. should prioritize "interest exchange" rather than "value consensus".
Behind this is his deep distrust of the international order. He doesn't believe in "win-win", he only believes in "trading". Therefore, when talking about the Middle East issue, he emphasized that "without the participation of the United Nations, we did it entirely"; When talking about NATO, he accused Europe of "enjoying protection without paying the price"; When talking about Asia, he equated "environmental protection" with "manufacturing outflow".
Trump's speech is not to unite the world, but to tell the world that the United States is no longer the housekeeper, and it will return to the role of businessman.
Is Trump’s “diplomatic cannon” really crazy or accurate?
It is actually a misjudgment to simply attribute this UN speech to "emotional catharsis". Although Trump's language is fierce, the logic behind it is clear. What he wants to do is clear: Destroy the old order and reshape America’s dominance on the international stage.
This was not an isolated event, but a continuation of his consistent strategic thinking. He had already withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, threatened withdrawal from NATO, and imposed tariffs on multiple countries when he took office for the first time.
This time, he not only reiterated his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, but also publicly questioned "the risk of death caused by green energy" at the United Nations for the first time, and accused European countries of "hypocritical environmental protection", but secretly continued to buy Russian energy.
Although these remarks are harsh, they are not groundless. After 2022, Germany did bring about skyrocketing energy prices and rising social pressure due to energy structure adjustments. Although it did not lead to the "175,000 deaths" as Trump called, it did expose the costs of energy transition.
Trump’s approach is to amplify and emotionalise these real-life issues, packing them back into narratives of “American interests being compromised.”
His criticism of Europe is also not without basis. For example, NATO military spending was already mentioned in the Obama era, and in Trump’s eyes, it was the iron proof that “the United States was blamed.” He pressured allies through public humiliation to say that this diplomatic approach, although rude, indeed sparked reflection within some countries about “whether to continue to rely on the United States.”
He accused the European immigration policy of "causing the city to get out of control". Although the data is exaggerated, it does reflect the controversy about the immigration integration policy in some European societies. Trump used these controversies to further strengthen the position that "the United States no longer pays for world chaos".
This is not madness, but an extreme rationality.He knows what words will shock the world, what words can be repeated in domestic media, what positions can resonate among voters.
Trump's diplomatic language is a sharp knife to serve domestic affairs.
The cracks in the world order are being torn even bigger by Trump
The shock caused by this speech is reflected not only in the headlines of the media and in the protests of the diplomatic field, but also in the crisis of trust in global governance mechanisms.
The United Nations itself is a symbol of multilateralism, and Trump is the biggest challenger to this symbol.
When he emphasized in his speech that "the United States can guarantee world security alone", this was not only a denial of the United Nations structure, but also a positive provocation to the global cooperation mechanism. He made it clear that he would no longer accept "moral kidnapping" and take responsibility for "the failed policies of other countries".
And this means that on global issues such as climate, war, trade, immigration, and technology, The U.S. may no longer be a coordinator, but more like an observer, or even a provocator.
He criticized the Paris Agreement, but did not give a new climate policy; he opposed the United Nations mechanism, but did not say clearly how the United States intended to participate in global governance; he blamed Europe for hypocrisy, but did not clearly define the boundaries of cooperation between the two sides.
This approach of "only demolishing but not building" has aggravated global uncertainty.
Representatives from Germany, Norway, Ireland and other countries protested directly at the scene, with delegations from some countries choosing to leave.
The Financial Times commented that “Trump’s speech was not a diplomatic accident, but a political declaration.” The United States will no longer bear the responsibility of being the “world leader” but will return to the track of “national interests first.”
Preliminary
Trump’s “explosive” speech at the United Nations was not a coincidence, nor a mere emotional release, it was a political expression of highly strategic intentions and a positive “fire-off” to global multilateralism.
He criticized the United Nations, angered Europe, denied the climate crisis, mocked environmentalism, and proclaimed American unilateralism, all pointing to a core message: The United States needs to redefine its global role.
Will this storm change the United Nations forever?Not necessarily.But it undoubtedly increased the international community’s concerns about the future order.Trump reminds the world in an extreme way: When the United States is no longer the world policeman, what will the world do?
He may not be the only American president who thinks so, but he is the first to say so loudly without writing.
The vocabulary was broken, but his firepower was not bad.
This diplomatic storm may have just begun.
References:
Shangguan News "Trump's Important Speech Content Exposure"
Trump to attend UN General Assembly