--- title: 'Your countries are being ruined," Trump says in dark U.N. speech description: Trump told world leaders he had "been right about everything" in a bitter speech to the United Nations General Assembly canonical: https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-09-23T17:03:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:11:22.730Z article:section: Politics og:title: At U.N., Trump Urges Europe to Halt Immigration: 'Your Countries Are Being Ruined' og:description: "I’ve been right about everything," Trump said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that mocked the U.N. itself og:url: https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15e6f40cd5193a6f/6998c9ef25f3eea4fa645050/GettyImages-2236459158.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Key Speakers During The 80th Session Of The United Nations General Assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: At U.N., Trump Urges Europe to Halt Immigration: 'Your Countries Are Being Ruined' twitter:description: "I’ve been right about everything," Trump said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that mocked the U.N. itself twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15e6f40cd5193a6f/6998c9ef25f3eea4fa645050/GettyImages-2236459158.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # At U.N., Trump Urges Europe to Halt Immigration and Demands Respect for His Vision: 'Your Countries Are Being Ruined' > 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=6cba7310-3885-47db-82c7-ae609028e617&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Argues Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Encourages ‘Continued Conflict’ During U.N. General Assembly Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Argues Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Encourages ‘Continued Conflict’ During U.N. General Assembly Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yeitXml6.m3u8) (5:40)  _Published 2025-09-23. President Donald Trump took aim at the decision from several countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, arguing that it serves as a "reward" to Hamas during his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 23, 2025._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Sep 23, 2025 5:03 PM UTC President Donald Trump took aim at the decision from several countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, arguing that it serves as a "reward" to Hamas during his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Sep 23, 2025 5:03 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Tuesday used his first visit of his second term to the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a grievance-laden speech accusing the world body of offering nothing but “empty words” while warning European leaders that [immigration](https://time.com/7319558/h1b-visa-project-firewall-labor-department-probe-fee-immigration-trump/) posed an existential threat to their nations. “Your countries are being ruined,” Trump told a hall filled with presidents, prime ministers and monarchs. “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.” It was his clearest call yet for nations to adopt his own hard-line approach to migration, particularly targeting European countries whose more open-border policies he said were endangering their economies and cultures. "I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it's been changed, it's been so changed," he said, referencing London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim. "Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can't do that." Trump’s remarks outlined a worldview that has come to define his second term: a rejection of globalism, support for closing national borders, and a belief that only his leadership can restore order. “I don’t say this in a braggadocious way,” he told the assembly, “but it’s true—I’ve been right about everything.” **Read more**: [_Trump Says Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Encourages ‘Continued Conflict’_](https://time.com/7319614/president-trump-united-nations-general-assembly-speech/) He extended his critique to the United Nations itself, claiming the organization was actively undermining the countries it was meant to serve. “The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders,” he said. “The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them, and not finance them.” Trump has long expressed his frustrations with multilateralism projected by the United Nations. Already in his first eight months in office, Trump has withheld up to $1 billion in funding for the U.N. and has withdrawn the U.S. from the World Health Organization, the Human Rights Council, and UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization. “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” he asked. “It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.” In one of many digressions, Trump complained that the body had rejected his bid two decades ago to renovate its headquarters. “I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex. I would have given you marble floors, mahogany walls. Instead you got plastic,” he said. “And you paid billions more. They still haven’t finished the job.” Later, he ridiculed a malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter. The contrast was on display in the session’s opening moments, when Annalena Baerbock, the General Assembly’s president, urged delegates not to give in to despair about the institution’s shortcomings. “Sometimes we could’ve done more, but we cannot let this dishearten us,” she said. “If we stop doing the right things, evil will prevail.” On policy, Trump lashed out at European nations for continuing to admit migrants and for investing in renewable energy, which he derided as a “green energy scam.” He warned of a “double-tailed monster” of immigration and climate policy that he said was destroying the continent. “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated,” he said. He went further still, calling climate change itself “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” dismissing the scientific consensus as a “hoax made up by people with evil intentions.” He insisted that he had “ended seven wars” and suggested he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize,” he told the hall. “But for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars.” However, his role in ending global conflicts has not been universally accepted. At a nearby event in New York City on Monday, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo said fighting with Rwanda had continued despite a Trump-brokered accord, claiming there is a difference between “President Trump’s will and the situation actually happening in the field,” according to the [_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/23/trump-united-nations-address-live/#link-35SMNEXLZ5B5NFV2L3ZLMKTRQY). Still, Trump argued that his efforts contrasted sharply with those of the United Nations, which he mocked as incapable of acting beyond issuing “really strongly worded letters.” “It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war,” he said. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.” The address also touched on two of the gravest conflicts confronting the assembly: the war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Gaza, Trump [criticized](https://time.com/7319614/president-trump-united-nations-general-assembly-speech/) the mounting international campaign to recognize Palestinian statehood, which France and several other U.S. allies [embraced](https://time.com/7319614/president-trump-united-nations-general-assembly-speech/) this week. “The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” he said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.” He insisted instead on securing the release of Israeli hostages, saying, “We want them all back. We don’t want to get back two, then another two. We want them all.” Turning to Ukraine, Trump berated European nations for continuing to buy Russian oil and gas. “Think of it: They’re funding the war against themselves,” he said. He warned that the United States was prepared to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” on Moscow, but said Europe must “step it up” and “immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia.” Trump proclaimed that America had entered a “Golden Age” of renewed strength. He extended “the hand of American leadership and friendship” to any nation willing to join him in “forging a safer, more prosperous world.” ## Transcript What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential. I've always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it's not even coming close to living up to that potential. For the most part, at least for now. All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. My administration has negotiated one historic trade deal after another, including with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and many, many others. Likewise, in a period of just seven months, I have ended seven unending wars. They said they were unmendable. You're never going to get them solved. Some were going for 31 years, two of them 31. Think of it 31 years. One was 36 years. One was 28 years. I ended seven wars and in all cases they were raging with countless thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand. Kosovo and Serbia. The Congo and Rwanda. A vicious, violent war. That was. Pakistan and India. Israel and Iran. Egypt and Ethiopia. And Armenia and Azerbaijan. It included all of them. No president or prime minister. And for that matter, no other country has ever done anything close to that. And I did it in just seven months. It's never happened before. There's never been anything like that. Very honored to have done it. It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them. And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them. All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the First lady wasn't in great shape, she would have fallen. But she's in great shape. We're both in good shape. We both stood. And then a teleprompter. That didn't work. This is. These are the two things I got from the United Nations. A bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. I didn't think of it at the time because I was too busy working to save millions of lives. That is the saving and stopping of these wars. But later I realized that the United Nations wasn't there for us. They weren't there. I thought of it really after the fact. Not during not during these negotiations, which were not easy. Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements, but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with the mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and inglorious wars. With Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity demolished, I immediately brokered an end to the 12 day war, as it's called, between Israel and Iran, with both sides agreeing to fight. fight no longer. As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza. Have to get that done, have to get it done. Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace. 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. Europe is in serious trouble. They've been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody's ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe. Nobody is ever. And nobody's doing anything to change it, to get them out. It's not sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they're doing just absolutely nothing about it. And I have to say, I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it's been so changed, so changed. Climate change. It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you're involved in that. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their country's fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don't get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail. And I'm really good at predicting things. You know, they actually said during the campaign that a hat, the best selling hat. Trump was right about everything. And I don't say that in a braggadocious way, but it's true. I've been right about everything. And I'm telling you that if you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/"},"headline":"At U.N., Trump Urges Europe to Halt Immigration and Demands Respect for His Vision: 'Your Countries Are Being Ruined'","datePublished":"2025-09-23T17:03:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T08:11:22.730Z","description":"“It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders\"","url":"https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk","News desk edits"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15e6f40cd5193a6f/6998c9ef25f3eea4fa645050/GettyImages-2236459158.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15e6f40cd5193a6f/6998c9ef25f3eea4fa645050/GettyImages-2236459158.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Key Speakers During The 80th Session Of The United Nations General Assembly","caption":"Key Speakers During The 80th Session Of The United Nations General Assembly","creditText":"Michael Nagle—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7319694/trump-un-speech-immigration/","name":"At U.N., Trump Urges Europe to Halt Immigration and Demands Respect for His Vision: 'Your Countries Are Being Ruined'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Argues Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Encourages ‘Continued Conflict’ During U.N. 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