New Delhi: In a fiery opener that set the tone for his blistering address at the United Nations General Assembly, US President Donald Trump turned a technical glitch into a savage takedown of the global body, quipping that its faulty teleprompter mirrored its overall incompetence.
Speaking at the 80th session amid world leaders, Trump kicked off by noting the malfunctioning prompter, joking, “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.” Undeterred, he read from his notes and riffed on the UN’s woes, drawing chuckles from the audience — including a smiling First Lady Melania Trump — as he lambasted the organisation for failing to curb conflicts. “I’ve stopped seven wars in seven months, saving millions of lives. That was the UN’s job, but like this teleprompter, they’re broken,” he thundered, adding that the body, founded for peace, now merely “writes letters that don’t stop a single fight.”
Trump didn’t end his remarks there. He mocked a broken escalator on his way in, saying, “Melania’s fit, so she escaped trouble, but I was worried I’d tumble.”
Blaming US funding cuts and delays from China for the UN’s cash crunch, he questioned its very purpose: “What is the point if I have to do the heavy lifting?”
Turning to global flashpoints, Trump boasted of his peace efforts outweighing any Nobel Prize – though “people want me to get one” – and slammed Europe for buying Russian oil amid the Ukraine war, where “Russia is killing innocents.” He urged nations to buy US energy over UN climate fiascos, and he warned that unchecked immigration was “destroying countries.”
The nearly hour-long stemwinder, aimed as much at American voters as foreign dignitaries, left the hall buzzing. As Trump wrapped up, he posted online that it was “very well received,” underscoring his unfiltered style on the world stage.