There is little doubt that Donald Trump has changed what it means to be an American President today and tomorrow. With his bombastic irreverence for politeness, lack of political correctness, and a command of social media in the age of digital communication, Trump has changed the US landscape indelibly. His style of speaking his mind, while effective, has also been divisive in its reception, with both fanatical supporters and angry detractors. This Tuesday, President Trump made his first major speaking engagement to the global community at the United Nations.
His message and the ensuing reactions of different leaders and diplomats have become quite the trending topic and subject of discussion.
‘America First’ becomes ‘each country’s own first.’
The gathering of world leaders and international diplomats in the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 19, were all looking forward to seeing how Donald Trump was going to address the world, the first time he would be doing so in his Presidency. There has certainly been enough record of his speeches to the nation to set a gauge regarding his preferred political stance and topics, and he did not deviate from these norms.
President Trump insisted in his address that “America First” takes priority over the interests of other nations, but now he has given the rhetoric a global spin.
While past Presidents tended to lean on common democratic governments and internationalism, Trump now tells the UN General Assembly that each nation too can put their interests first, provided they do not cause untoward conflict. The notion that individual countries can chart their course without being tied down by multilateral agreements or trade deals would explain why he never once mentioned the current UN concern over global warming.
Calling names and issuing threats
But Donald Trump also believes that countries putting themselves first can still work together in the United Nations to confront hot international issues. He mentions attacking North Korea if it kept escalating its nuclear program (even calling Kim Jong-Un “rocket-man”), as well as threatening to end the US-Iran nuclear deal.
The President labeled international terrorists as “losers,” described some countries’ regimes as “evil” and that these same will “go to hell” like North Korea.
Camera footage of the UN General Assembly showed a variety of reactions to Trump’s big speech. Iran’s representative was on his phone. Other nations that were called out – Cuba, Venezuela, and Turkey (with President Recep Erdogan) – sat stone-faced. And the North Korean diplomats were not even present. The President’s speech, however, was met positively by Russia, South Korea, and Israel (with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). All in all, Trump’s 41-minute speech proved just as diving of opinions with the international community was his other rhetoric is with America itself.
