President Donald Trump began his adventure at the United Nations with a broken escalator. He started his speech to the General Assembly with a busted teleprompter. What’s going on over there at Turtle Bay?

“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter because the teleprompter is not working,” he told the assembled delegates at the outset. “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.” That drew laughter from the crowd.

Who else was in big trouble? Pretty much every other nation in attendance. Instead of a 15-minute teleprompted address, the UN got a 55-minute barnburner as Trump took on the global establishment.

He then attended several other meetings and gave another speech later in the day. Can anyone imagine Joe Biden doing that?

Trump addressed numerous important issues, ranging from boasting of the success of his own domestic policies to his evaluation of global affairs. I’ll focus on the latter.

“I ended seven wars,” he declared, “dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal. All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle.”

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked. “The UN has such tremendous potential,” he added, “but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.” All you get from the UN, he joked, is “a really strongly worded letter.”

He touted Operation Midnight Hammer, which obliterated Iran’s primary nuclear facilities. He went on to discuss the war in Gaza while pounding our allies for recognizing “Palestine”:

Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace, and we can’t forget October 7th, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7th, even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire. … Instead of giving in to Hamas ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: release the hostages now. Just release the hostages now. Thank you.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognized a Palestinian state. The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada did so on Sunday. What a disgraceful episode of validating terrorism.

Next, Trump tackled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he lamented has been more difficult to stop than he thought. Largely, he said, that’s thanks to the poor choices of Europe and NATO, as well as outright interference from China and India.

China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products. … Think of it, they’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?

The president saved arguably his greatest ire for the subject of immigration. He offered a devastating critique of European nations, especially in contrast with his own success in closing our southern border:

Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should, too often, it’s actually creating new problems for us to solve. The best example is the number one political issue of our time: the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It’s uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders. In 2024, the UN budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States. Think of that, the UN is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out. The UN also provided food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards to illegal aliens — can you believe that? — on the way to infiltrate our southern border.

He added, “The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them.”

He went on for several more minutes about the wreckage caused by uncontrolled migration. “Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe if something is not done immediately,” he warned. “You have to end it now.” Otherwise, he added, “Your countries are going to hell.”

He spoke at length about energy policy and the “joke” of “falsely named renewables.” He called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” not because of temperatures but because of the swindle perpetrated by government regulators and tax collectors, along with purveyors of alternative energy sources.

Finally, he rightly boasted, “Next year the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our glorious independence, a testament to enduring power and American freedom and spirit.” He challenged the rest of the world to look to and uphold those ideals. “Let us defend free speech and free expression,” he said. “Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It’s called Christianity. And let us safeguard our sovereignty and cherish qualities that have made each of our nations so special, incredible, and extraordinary.”

He concluded by pointing to rich histories and admirable ancestors who built the world we live in. That won’t be preserved if we don’t do so intentionally. Trump may often seem and behave like a bull in a china shop, but he is always aiming to fix broken things and restore former glory. There’s a method to his madness, even if sometimes his methods make folks mad.

In his UN address, he demonstrated his connection with the desires of ordinary people in America and all over the world, in ways that ought to enlighten foreign leaders.

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