{"id":1992,"date":"2018-09-27T01:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T01:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=1992"},"modified":"2018-09-27T01:44:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T01:44:11","slug":"trump-speech-at-u-n-scorn-for-iran-praise-for-kim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2018\/09\/27\/trump-speech-at-u-n-scorn-for-iran-praise-for-kim\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Speech at U.N.: Scorn for Iran, Praise for Kim"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"css-sb57iz e345g291\">\n<h1 id=\"link-6ffe7e26\" class=\"css-1ml6k8c ejekc6u0\"><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p>UNITED NATIONS \u2014 President Trump thrust his commitment to an \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy back onto the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. But in his second address on this diplomatic stage, he sounded as eager to claim credit for his achievements after 20 months in office, as he was to disrupt the world order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">If Mr. Trump had changed, so had his audience \u2014 no longer as daunted by the insurgent figure who left them slack-jawed last year when he vowed to \u201ccrush loser terrorists,\u201d mocked North Korea\u2019s leader as \u201cRocket Man\u201d and declared that parts of the world \u201care going to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">This time, emissaries from around the world listened quietly as Mr. Trump fulminated at foes like Iran and failing states like Venezuela. They nodded as he singled out an enemy-turned-partner, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, expressing optimism for a diplomatic opening that would have seemed far-fetched even a year ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">But when Mr. Trump declared, \u201cIn less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,\u201d the crowd broke into murmurs and laughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Briefly disconcerted, the president smiled and said, \u201cI did not expect that reaction, but that\u2019s O.K.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">It was a jarring moment for a leader who usually speaks to adoring crowds at \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d rallies, where his use of superlatives to describe his success draws reliable cheers. Mr. Trump still commands the world stage and he is still capable of upending American foreign policy with a single tweet. But after a year of such bombast, many in the audience at the United Nations treated him almost as a source of levity, not fear.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-rpp6yo\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-16858bh\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-10klw3m optimizelyOK vi_inline\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">There is also evidence that foreign leaders are more willing to push back. Speaking after Mr. Trump, President Emmanuel Macron of France said the Paris climate accord had survived despite America\u2019s decision to pull out. In a not-so-subtle slap at Mr. Trump, he proposed that countries refuse to sign trade deals with those who do not comply with the accord.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">On Monday, France joined Germany and Britain \u2014 as well as the other signatories, Russia, China, and Iran \u2014 in recommitting to the Iran nuclear accord, repudiated by Mr. Trump in May. They did so even as Mr. Trump urged Europe to isolate Iran and warned of draconian new sanctions that would penalize America\u2019s allies for not cutting off commercial ties with the Iranians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">President Hassan Rouhani of Iran criticized Mr. Trump for quitting the agreement and made clear he thought the president\u2019s offer to talk with Iran\u2019s leaders was disingenuous (earlier in the day, Mr. Trump insisted it was the Iranians who had wanted to talk).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\">\n<div class=\"css-z3qape ek9z99y2\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-2-wrapper\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-flexFrame--1PVri ResponsiveAd-storyBodyAd--35v2w\">\n<div class=\"ad story-ad-2-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-2\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/29390238\/nyt\/world\/americas_6__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIt is ironic that the United States government does not even conceal its plan for overthrowing the same government it invites to talks,\u201d Mr. Rouhani said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Trump, for his part, condemned Iran\u2019s government as a \u201ccorrupt dictatorship\u201d that had looted its people and used the windfall from the nuclear deal to finance what he described as a terrorist campaign that is destabilizing the entire Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium css-tn2kb2\" role=\"group\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIran\u2019s leaders sow chaos, death and destruction,\u201d he declared. \u201cThey do not respect their neighbors or borders, or the sovereign rights of nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cNot good,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Shifting gears, Mr. Trump lavished praise on his efforts to shake up the established order, pointing to his withdrawal from trade deals and international organizations, his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his meeting last June with Mr. Kim of North Korea, which he said had produced far more than anyone expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cThe missiles and rockets are no longer flying in every direction,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cNuclear testing has stopped. Some military facilities are already being dismantled. Our hostages have been released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cI would like to thank Chairman Kim for his courage and for the steps he has taken,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cmuch work needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Trump\u2019s speech showed a president at once fickle and set in his ways. His emphasis on sovereignty was a repeat of the big theme of last year\u2019s General Assembly address, and it showed that on the core principles of his \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy, Mr. Trump is not budging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Yet Mr. Trump\u2019s warm words for Mr. Kim were a 180-degree shift from 2017, when he said the North Korean leader was on a suicidal collision course with the United States. That showed he is open to radical shifts in approach, based on his idiosyncratic view of personal diplomacy and his self-avowed skill as a dealmaker in spotting opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">As he did last year, Mr. Trump relied on his senior domestic adviser, Stephen Miller, for much of the speechwriting. Mr. Miller has spearheaded the White House\u2019s immigration policy and its recent decision to cut significantly the number of refugees the United States will accept.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">The national security adviser, John R. Bolton, an even more ardent proponent than Mr. Trump of the virtues of sovereignty, also injected themes. In his own speech at a conference on Tuesday, Mr. Bolton alluded to the frequent description in Iran of the United States as the \u201cGreat Satan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIf you cross us, our allies, or our partners,\u201d Mr. Bolton said, \u201cif you harm our citizens, if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive, yes, there will indeed be hell to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">For presidents, General Assembly speeches are a good guide to the evolution of their thinking. In 2009, his first year in office, Barack Obama delivered a soaring paean to the need for diplomacy and collective action. By 2014, Mr. Obama had cast off some early ambitions and dwelt instead on the threat from the Islamic State \u2014 an enemy Mr. Trump said Tuesday had been \u201cdriven out from the territory they once held in Iraq and Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Trump has not yet faced a major foreign policy crisis, and his speech reflected his good fortune. He still spoke mostly about actions he had taken to unwind the legacy of Mr. Obama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-4-wrapper\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-storyBodyAd--35v2w\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-4-slug\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-adSlug--3H3QM\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"css-12t3uda e1a8i6eb0\" role=\"group\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Critics said Mr. Trump\u2019s triumphalist tone provoked the derisive reaction. \u201cIf you\u2019re boastful, and in the most improbable ways, it\u2019s just becomes outlandish,\u201d said Nicholas Burns, a senior diplomat under President George W. Bush. \u201cIt was a sad moment for American leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">The president expressed resentment toward a familiar array of perceived malefactors: allies, who he said did not pay their fair share for military defense; trading partners, who he said exploited unfair agreements that harmed American workers; and oil producers, whom he accused of gouging the United States and other customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cOPEC and OPEC nations are, as usual, ripping off the rest of the world, and I don\u2019t like it,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cNobody should like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Trump also assailed countries, like China, that use industrial planning in their economies to undercut competitors on trade. The United States, he said, was systematically renegotiating what he called unfair trade deals and striking back against China\u2019s theft of intellectual property, predatory licensing agreements and the dumping of goods in the American market under President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cI have great respect and affection for my friend President Xi, but I have made clear that our trade imbalance is just not acceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cChina\u2019s market distortions, and the way they deal, cannot be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">America\u2019s other great strategic rival, Russia, went unmentioned by Mr. Trump, except for a reference to what he described as Germany\u2019s dependence on Russian energy. That was also Mr. Trump\u2019s only mention of Germany, a staunch ally, though he praised its neighbor, Poland, which has an increasingly autocratic government, for its construction of a pipeline in the Baltic Sea to diversify its energy supply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">After his speech, Mr. Trump took credit for a change in Iran\u2019s behavior since he withdrew from the nuclear deal. He claimed, without evidence, that Iran had abandoned its ambitions to build a land bridge to the Mediterranean Sea. At some point, he predicted, the United States and Iran would have \u201cmeaningful negotiations and probably do a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIran is a much different country today than it was a year ago,\u201d he said before meeting Colombia\u2019s president, Iv\u00e1n Duque M\u00e1rquez. \u201cThey have riots in the street. They have horrible inflation, the worst in the world. Their currency is a disaster. Everything in Iran is failing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Aside from Iran, Venezuela drew Mr. Trump\u2019s harshest critique. He described the political tumult roiling the country as a \u201chuman tragedy\u201d and said the United States would impose new sanctions on the government of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Socialism, he said, had squandered Venezuela\u2019s oil resources and \u201cdriven its people into abject poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Trump spoke of the great potential of the United Nations, but expressed little regard for any other international bodies. The United States, he said, had rightfully exited the Human Rights Council, refused to take part in the Global Compact on Migration or to recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court, which has recently considered investigating the conduct of American troops in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">The president singled out India, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Poland as worthy partners: nations that he said had distinctive traditions and cultures, patriotic societies and a fierce commitment to independence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xhhu0i e2kc3sl0\">\u201cSovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle where freedom has ever survived, democracy has ever endured or peace has ever prospered,\u201d Mr. Trump declared. \u201cAnd so we must protect our sovereignty and our cherished independence above all.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNITED NATIONS \u2014 President Trump thrust his commitment to an \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy back onto the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. But in his second address on this diplomatic stage, he sounded as eager to claim credit for his achievements after 20 months in office, as he was to disrupt the world order. If Mr. Trump had changed,&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2018\/09\/27\/trump-speech-at-u-n-scorn-for-iran-praise-for-kim\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-1992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-ny-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1993,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992\/revisions\/1993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}