NEW YORK CITY, Sept 24 — US President Donald Trump argued for lower levels of global migration and urged a turn away from climate change policies on Tuesday in a combative, wide-ranging speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that levelled scathing criticism of world leaders.
The 56-minute speech was a rebuke to the world body and a return to form for Trump, who routinely bashed the UN during his first term as president. Leaders gave him polite applause when he exited the chamber.
He rejected moves by allies to endorse a Palestinian state amid Israel's latest Gaza offensive and urged European nations to adopt the same set of economic measures he is proposing against Russia to force an end to the war in Ukraine.
Much of his speech was dominated by two of his biggest grievances: immigration and climate change.
Trump offered his US immigration crackdown as a case study for what other world leaders should do to curb mass migration that he says is altering the fabric of nations. Human rights advocates argue the migrants are seeking better lives.
"I'm really good at this stuff," Trump said. "Your countries are going to hell."
Trump, who met Britain's environmentally conscious King Charles at Windsor Castle last week, called climate change a "con job" and urged a return to a greater reliance on fossil fuels. Scientists say climate change caused by humans is real.
"Immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe," Trump said.
Trump's administration plans to call for sharply narrowing the right to asylum at the UN later this month, Reuters reported last week, as it seeks to undo the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian protection.
Trump sprinkled into his speech a litany of false and misleading statements, such as that London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to impose "sharia law" on London and that "inflation has been defeated" in the US six days after the Federal Reserve said inflation has gone up.
European powers have spent months trying to stabilise their relationship with the US leader with a focus on winning US support to end the war in Ukraine. At a Nato summit in June, Trump and European leaders lavished each other with praise.
But in Tuesday's speech, Trump mocked Nato allies for not shutting down purchases of Russian oil and said he would impose strong economic measures against Moscow.
"They're funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the US is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs," he said.
"But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations, all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures."
He did not detail the measures, but he has been considering a package that includes sanctions against countries that do business with Russia, like India and China. The main buyers of Russian oil in Europe are Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey.
Trump later held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who pressed for more US support to resist Russian advances. Trump, asked by reporters if Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, said, "Yes, I do."
On the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Trump rejected efforts by world leaders to embrace a Palestinian state, a move that faces fierce resistance from Israel.
"The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities," he said, repeating his call for the return of hostages taken by the Palestinian militant group.
Trump said the US wants a ceasefire-for-hostages deal that would see the return of all remaining hostages, alive and dead.
