'You All Are Going To Hell': Trump Slams UN, Western Nations Over Migration

US President Donald Trump delivered a scathing critique of the United Nations on Tuesday during his first address since returning to the White House.

In his combative return to the UN General Assembly podium, Trump lambasted the international organization for its perceived ineffectiveness in maintaining peace and accused it of encouraging illegal migration.

Trump claimed that the UN was facilitating an "assault" through migration on Western nations that he dramatically described as "going to hell."

The President also used the prominent international platform to dismiss climate change concerns as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world," openly rejecting global warming reduction efforts.

"What is the purpose of the United Nations?" Trump questioned rhetorically during his speech.

"All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter," he continued dismissively. "It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war."

The 79-year-old President even took time to complain about infrastructure issues at the UN headquarters in New York, mentioning a malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter, organizations he has repeatedly criticized during both his presidential terms.

"This is these are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter," he remarked.

While highlighting what he characterized as his efforts to end seven conflicts, Trump addressed two ongoing wars where his diplomatic approaches have yielded no resolution – Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.

He condemned the recognition of a Palestinian state by several American allies as a "reward" to Hamas for committing "horrible atrocities" and urged the militant group to release hostages as a path toward peace.

Trump criticized European allies, China, and India for continuing oil purchases from Russia, though his comments on Moscow remained relatively measured, stating only that Washington was prepared to impose unspecified sanctions.

His most vehement criticism targeted migration policies as he accused the UN of "funding an assault" on Western countries.

"It's time to end the failed experiment of open borders," Trump declared. "Your countries are going to hell," he added, also singling out London's Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital.

- 'Wreaking havoc' -

Trump's second term has begun with a series of nationalist policies limiting cooperation with the international community.

He has initiated withdrawals from the World Health Organization and the UN climate agreement, drastically reduced US development assistance, and implemented sanctions against foreign judges over rulings he perceives as violations of sovereignty.

In his opening address to the annual summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that aid reductions led by the United States were "wreaking havoc" globally.

"What kind of world will we choose? A world of raw power -- or a world of laws?" Guterres questioned.

Regarding Ukraine, Trump is scheduled to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, marking their second meeting since Trump's August 15 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska – an encounter that decreased Moscow's isolation from the West but produced no breakthrough on the Ukraine conflict.

Despite Trump's assertions that he can quickly resolve the war, Russia has maintained its attacks on Ukraine over the past month and created tension with drone or air incursions into NATO members Poland, Estonia, and Romania.

Trump recently expressed disappointment, stating that Putin had "really let me down."

One of Trump's few other bilateral meetings will be with Argentina's right-wing President Javier Milei, an ideological ally whose government may receive economic support from the United States.

Prior to Trump's visit to the heavily secured UN district, the US Secret Service announced they had thwarted a "telecommunications-related" plot.

The agency reported discovering a weaponized network of over 100,000 cellphone SIM cards capable of disrupting communications around the UN, indicating involvement of "nation-state threat actors."