Trump at UN: “I Stopped 7 Wars, Where’s My Nobel Prize?

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Key Points

  • In his first address to the UN General Assembly in his second term, President Donald Trump claimed he stopped seven major wars, including the India-Pakistan conflict, and questioned why he hasn’t received a Nobel Prize.
  • He reiterated his claim of brokering an India-Pakistan ceasefire, a claim India has repeatedly denied.
  • Trump condemned the push for Palestinian statehood, calling it a “huge reward to terrorism” and a “gift to Hamas,” urging a focus on releasing hostages first.
  • The speech, lasting around 55 minutes, focused on the “renewal of American strength,” criticized globalist institutions, and challenged the UN to prove its utility.
  • Trump also went off-script, touching on topics like wind turbines, crime in US cities, and Asian countries dumping garbage into the ocean, drawing a muted response from world leaders.

New York: In a fiery and wide-ranging speech at the 80th United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump positioned himself as a global peacemaker, demanding recognition for his efforts while criticizing the very institution he was addressing. In his first UNGA address since returning to office, Trump claimed he had single-handedly stopped seven “endless wars” and deserved a Nobel Prize for his accomplishments.

“I stopped seven major wars… including the conflict that escalated into a war between India and Pakistan, but I didn’t even get a phone call from the United Nations,” Trump stated, portraying his tenure as “America’s Golden Age”. The conflicts he claimed to have ended include Cambodia-Thailand, Serbia, Congo-Rwanda, India-Pakistan, Israel-Iran, Egypt-Ethiopia, and Armenia-Azerbaijan.

His claim regarding the India-Pakistan ceasefire has been consistently refuted by India, which maintains no third party was involved. The claim persists despite recent statements from Pakistani officials acknowledging readiness for a US proposal that India had rejected.

Rejection of Palestinian Statehood and Stance on Gaza

Addressing the recent wave of countries recognizing Palestine, Trump adopted a hardline stance, echoing Israel’s position. He characterized the diplomatic push as a “gift to Hamas” and a “huge reward to terrorism” [from your article]. “Those who favor peace must first come together to secure the release of the hostages,” Trump declared, demanding an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza and the unconditional release of all 20 remaining hostages.

This statement directly opposes the position of many world leaders at the assembly, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has advocated for Palestinian statehood as the only path to lasting peace.

A Challenging and Unconventional Address

Lasting nearly an hour, far exceeding the typical 15-minute slot, Trump’s speech challenged the “feckless” UN to prove its purpose and act on crises rather than just debating them. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the speech was intended to articulate a “straightforward and constructive vision for the world” while highlighting the decay of “globalist institutions”.

True to form, Trump frequently veered off his prepared remarks, discussing a range of domestic and personal topics, from the ineffectiveness of wind turbines to his failed attempts to update the UN headquarters. These digressions, including a puzzling remark about killing cows and an accusation that Asian countries “dump much of their garbage into the ocean,” were met with a largely silent and unresponsive audience of world leaders. The speech underscored his administration’s “America First” foreign policy and his skepticism of multilateral organizations, having already withdrawn the U.S. from the World Health Organization and the UN Human Rights Council earlier in his term.

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