--- title: U.N.: Barack Obama Criticizes Donald Trump Plans description: President Obama used his final address to the U.N. General Assembly to implicitly argue against Donald Trump canonical: https://time.com/4501214/barack-obama-donald-trump-united-nations/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-20T16:50:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:47:31.546Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Criticizes Trump Proposals Before U.N. og:description: "A nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself" og:url: https://time.com/4501214/barack-obama-donald-trump-united-nations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt169f51c753bee29f/6988a6d88e0601622146787f/gettyimages-608959164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3059 og:image:height: 1721 og:image:alt: World Leaders Gather In New York For Annual United Nations General Assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Criticizes Trump Proposals Before U.N. twitter:description: "A nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt169f51c753bee29f/6988a6d88e0601622146787f/gettyimages-608959164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Criticizes Donald Trump Proposals Before U.N. > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a1c1669b-7d37-415c-b5d2-25cfb6785908&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Makes Final Address To The United Nations [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Makes Final Address To The United Nations](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o5gwlNaX.m3u8) (2:00)  _Published 2016-09-20. President Obama used his final address to the United Nations General Assembly to implicitly argue against the immigration and trade policies of Republican nominee Donald Trump._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 20, 2016 4:50 PM UTC President Obama used his final address to the United Nations General Assembly to implicitly argue against the immigration and trade policies of Republican nominee Donald Trump. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 20, 2016 4:50 PM UTC President Obama used his final address to the U.N. General Assembly to implicitly argue against the immigration and trade policies of Republican nominee Donald Trump. In a speech Tuesday, Obama criticized politicians on the far left and far right who push “a crude populism” that “seeks to restore what they believe was a better, simpler age free of outside contamination.” Then he appeared to reference Trump’s biggest proposal, a wall along the Mexican border. “I believe that the acceleration of travel and technology and telecommunications, together with a global economy that depends on a global supply chain, makes it self-defeating ultimately for those who seek to reverse this progress,” he said. “Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.” **Read More:** [_Transcript of President Obama’s U.N. Address_](http://time.com/4501910/president-obama-united-nations-speech-transcript/) He also appeared to critique Trump’s proposal to [raise tariffs on imports from China and Mexico](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/upshot/why-a-president-trump-could-start-a-trade-war-with-surprising-ease.html), a move many economists say would lead to a trade war. “If we start resorting to trade wars and market-distorting subsidies, beggar-thy-neighbor policies and overreliance on natural resources instead of innovation, these approaches will make us poorer collectively and they are more likely to lead to conflict,” Obama said. Instead, Obama outlined a broad agenda of strengthening labor unions, spending on early childhood education and infrastructure and increasing foreign aid, among other things. ## Transcript [00:00] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:03] As [00:06] I address this hall as President for the final time, let [00:12] me recount the progress that we made these last eight [00:16] years. From the depths of the greatest [00:20] financial crisis of our time, we coordinated Our [00:23] response to avoid further catastrophe and return the [00:27] global economy to growth. We taken away terrorist [00:30] safe havens, strengthened the non proliferation [00:34] regime, resolved the Iranian nuclear issue [00:39] through diplomacy. This is important work It has [00:43] made a real difference in the lives of our people. And [00:48] it could not have happened had we not worked [00:51] together. If our religion leads us to persecute those of [00:54] another faith, if we jail or be at people [00:59] who are gay If our traditions lead us to prevent [01:03] girls from going to school, if we discriminate on the [01:07] basis of race or tribe or ethnicity, then the fragile [01:11] bonds of civilization will fray. Today, a nation ringed by [01:15] walls would only imprison itself. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] So [01:18] the answer Cannot be a simple [01:22] rejection of global integration. Instead, we [01:26] must work together to make sure [01:30] the benefits of such integration are [01:34] broadly shared. I belive America has been [01:38] a rare superpower in human history. In so far [01:43] as it has been willing to think beyond narrow self [01:47] interest. We have strived, sometimes at great sacrifice [01:51] to align better our actions with our ideas. And [01:56] as a consequence, I believe we have been a force for [01:59] good ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4501214/barack-obama-donald-trump-united-nations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4501214/barack-obama-donald-trump-united-nations/"},"headline":"President Obama Criticizes Donald Trump Proposals Before U.N.","datePublished":"2016-09-20T16:50:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:47:31.546Z","description":"President Obama used his final address to the U.N. 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