Trump boasts about ending seven wars, questions UN role

UNITED NATIONS: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States witnessed massive changes since he assumed the office for this second term and he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts he made for a peaceful world.

While attacking the very ideas of climate change and migration, the US president described tariffs as a defensive mechanism, stressing that trade must be reciprocal.

Trump, in his address at the UN General Assembly, said the US wanted to do trade and help many countries, including the ones facing energy shortages, by energy exports.

PALESTINIAN STATE REJECTED

Meanwhile, Trump, as expected, used the opportunity to ridicule the idea of two-state solution and blamed Hamas for the delay in ceasefire in Gaza.

He said, “This would be a reward for (Hamas’s) horrible atrocities, including October 7, even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire.”

Read more: Shehbaz, other leaders to meet Trump who ‘wants’ to focus on Gaza

His latest remarks came after France and other Western nations formally announced their decision to recognise the Palestinian state at a summit held Monday on the sidelines of UN General Assembly.

As far as Israel is concerned, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday said the Israeli government has shown a clear intent to establish permanent control over Gaza and to ensure a Jewish majority in the occupied West Bank.

The UN report details Israeli authorities’ extensive, systematic demolition of civilian infrastructure in Gaza’s corridors and buffer zone — resulting in Israel expanding control to 75 per cent of the Gaza strip by July this year.

TRUMP, ‘THE PEACEMAKER’

The US would continue playing its role for a peaceful world, Trump said, adding, “I have ended seven wars.”

He asked “what is the purpose” of United Nations and blasted the world organisation over the failure to ensure peace, saying he saved thousands of lives by ending these wars, including the one between Pakistan and India.

The United Nations did not nothing to stop the wars and didn’t even made a call to him for the purpose, the US president complained.

In a sarcasm-laden broadside against the United Nations, he said the institution does not help peace and mocked the quality of the headquarters building.

“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 it,” Trump said and complained about a broken escalator at the New York headquarters.

At the same time, Trump vowed that the US would protect its sovereignty and interests forcefully as he mentioned that his country had the most powerful military in the world.

CHINA, INDIA FUNDING UKRAINE WAR

Read more: Trump to Europe: Stop buying Russian oil, put pressure on China

Trump, who hiked the US tariffs on India from 25 per cent to 50 per cent over procuring Russian oil, said “China and India were the primary funders” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

However, the US president noted that even NATO had not been able to stop the Russian purchases, as he urged the European countries to end the practice.

“They are buying oil and gas from Russia while they are fighting Russia,” Trump said about the European countries.

‘WEST’ UNDER ATTACK

Meanwhile, Trump also accused the United Nations of ‘funding an assault’ on West through migration. “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders.”

“Your countries are going to hell,” he said, also attacking London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital.

He also vowed to obliterate drug smugglers after US forces destroyed at least three alleged Venezuelan smuggling boats, killing more than a dozen people.

Read more: India to seek access for skilled workers amid H-1B chaos

“To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” Trump told the UN General Assembly.

IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS

On the other hand, he said “nuclear weapons pose a great danger” and called for effective measures to check nuclear proliferation.

“Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” he told the world leaders and repeated his assertions about how the United States bombed and destroyed the Iranian nuclear facilities.

“Three months ago, in Operation Midnight Hammer, seven American B2 bombers dropped 30,000 pound each bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facility, totally obliterating everything. No other country on Earth could have done what we did.”

CLIMATE CHANGE ‘GREATEST CON JOB EVER‘ 

At the same time, Trump called climate change the “greatest con job ever” and alleged that the concept of carbon footprints was “a hoax”.

“Climate change — it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,” he said. “(The) carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions, and they’re heading down a path of total destruction.”

RENEWABLE ENERGY, IMMIGRATION DESTROYING FREE WORLD

While ending his speech, Trump claimed that “the high cost of” renewable energy and immigration are “destroying” the free world.

“In closing, I just want to repeat that immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet,” he said.

“Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast because of their policies on these two subjects. You need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again, whether you have come from north or south, east or west, near or far.”