Donald J. Trump Forty-Fifth President
(2017 to 2021)
Addresses 72nd Session Of United Nations General Assembly September 19, 2017 - New York, NY
(Video courtesy of the U.S. Department of State with editing by USA Patriotism!)
Text Version
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, world
leaders, and distinguished delegates: Welcome to New York. It is a
profound honor to stand here in my home city, as a representative of
the American people, to address the people of the world.
As
millions of our citizens continue to suffer the effects of the
devastating hurricanes that have struck our country, I want to begin
by expressing my appreciation to every leader in this room who has
offered assistance and aid. The American people are strong and
resilient, and they will emerge from these hardships more determined
than ever before.
Fortunately, the United States has done
very well since Election Day last November 8th. The stock market is
at an all-time high -- a record. Unemployment is at its lowest level
in 16 years, and because of our regulatory and other reforms, we
have more people working in the United States today than ever
before. Companies are moving back, creating job growth the likes of
which our country has not seen in a very long time. And it has just
been announced that we will be spending almost $700 billion on our
military and defense.
Our military will soon be the
strongest it has ever been. For more than 70 years, in times of war
and peace, the leaders of nations, movements, and religions have
stood before this assembly. Like them, I intend to address some of
the very serious threats before us today but also the enormous
potential waiting to be unleashed.
We live in a time of
extraordinary opportunity. Breakthroughs in science, technology, and
medicine are curing illnesses and solving problems that prior
generations thought impossible to solve.
But each day also
brings news of growing dangers that threaten everything we cherish
and value. Terrorists and extremists have gathered strength and
spread to every region of the planet. Rogue regimes represented in
this body not only support terrorists but threaten other nations and
their own people with the most destructive weapons known to
humanity.
Authority and authoritarian powers seek to
collapse the values, the systems, and alliances that prevented
conflict and tilted the world toward freedom since World War II.
International criminal networks traffic drugs, weapons, people;
force dislocation and mass migration; threaten our borders; and new
forms of aggression exploit technology to menace our citizens.
To put it simply, we meet at a time of both of immense promise
and great peril. It is entirely up to us whether we lift the world
to new heights, or let it fall into a valley of disrepair.
We
have it in our power, should we so choose, to lift millions from
poverty, to help our citizens realize their dreams, and to ensure
that new generations of children are raised free from violence,
hatred, and fear.
This institution was founded in the
aftermath of two world wars to help shape this better future. It was
based on the vision that diverse nations could cooperate to protect
their sovereignty, preserve their security, and promote their
prosperity.
It was in the same period, exactly 70 years ago,
that the United States developed the Marshall Plan to help restore
Europe. Those three beautiful pillars -- they’re pillars of peace,
sovereignty, security, and prosperity.
The Marshall Plan was
built on the noble idea that the whole world is safer when nations
are strong, independent, and free. As President Truman said in his
message to Congress at that time, “Our support of European recovery
is in full accord with our support of the United Nations. The
success of the United Nations depends upon the independent strength
of its members.”
To overcome the perils of the present and to
achieve the promise of the future, we must begin with the wisdom of
the past. Our success depends on a coalition of strong and
independent nations that embrace their sovereignty to promote
security, prosperity, and peace for themselves and for the world.
We do not expect diverse countries to share the same cultures,
traditions, or even systems of government. But we do expect all
nations to uphold these two core sovereign duties: to respect the
interests of their own people and the rights of every other
sovereign nation. This is the beautiful vision of this institution,
and this is foundation for cooperation and success.
Strong,
sovereign nations let diverse countries with different values,
different cultures, and different dreams not just coexist, but work
side by side on the basis of mutual respect.
Strong,
sovereign nations let their people take ownership of the future and
control their own destiny. And strong, sovereign nations allow
individuals to flourish in the fullness of the life intended by God.
In America, we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,
but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch. This
week gives our country a special reason to take pride in that
example. We are celebrating the 230th anniversary of our beloved
Constitution -- the oldest constitution still in use in the world
today.
This timeless document has been the foundation of
peace, prosperity, and freedom for the Americans and for countless
millions around the globe whose own countries have found inspiration
in its respect for human nature, human dignity, and the rule of law.
The greatest in the United States Constitution is its first
three beautiful words. They are: “We the people.”
Generations
of Americans have sacrificed to maintain the promise of those words,
the promise of our country, and of our great history. In America,
the people govern, the people rule, and the people are sovereign. I
was elected not to take power, but to give power to the American
people, where it belongs.
In foreign affairs, we are renewing
this founding principle of sovereignty. Our government's first duty
is to its people, to our citizens -- to serve their needs, to ensure
their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.
As President of the United States, I will always put America
first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always,
and should always, put your countries first. (Applause.)
All
responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own citizens,
and the nation-state remains the best vehicle for elevating the
human condition.
But making a better life for our people
also requires us to work together in close harmony and unity to
create a more safe and peaceful future for all people.
The
United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and
especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken advantage
of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets
nothing in return. As long as I hold this office, I will defend
America’s interests above all else.
But in fulfilling our
obligations to our own nations, we also realize that it’s in
everyone’s interest to seek a future where all nations can be
sovereign, prosperous, and secure.
America does more than
speak for the values expressed in the United Nations Charter. Our
citizens have paid the ultimate price to defend our freedom and the
freedom of many nations represented in this great hall. America's
devotion is measured on the battlefields where our young men and
women have fought and sacrificed alongside of our allies, from the
beaches of Europe to the deserts of the Middle East to the jungles
of Asia.
It is an eternal credit to the American character
that even after we and our allies emerged victorious from the
bloodiest war in history, we did not seek territorial expansion, or
attempt to oppose and impose our way of life on others. Instead, we
helped build institutions such as this one to defend the
sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all.
For the
diverse nations of the world, this is our hope. We want harmony and
friendship, not conflict and strife. We are guided by outcomes, not
ideology. We have a policy of principled realism, rooted in shared
goals, interests, and values.
That realism forces us to
confront a question facing every leader and nation in this room. It
is a question we cannot escape or avoid. We will slide down the path
of complacency, numb to the challenges, threats, and even wars that
we face. Or do we have enough strength and pride to confront those
dangers today, so that our citizens can enjoy peace and prosperity
tomorrow?
If we desire to lift up our citizens, if we aspire
to the approval of history, then we must fulfill our sovereign
duties to the people we faithfully represent. We must protect our
nations, their interests, and their futures. We must reject threats
to sovereignty, from the Ukraine to the South China Sea. We must
uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and respect for
culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow. And just as the
founders of this body intended, we must work together and confront
together those who threaten us with chaos, turmoil, and terror.
The scourge of our planet today is a small group of rogue
regimes that violate every principle on which the United Nations is
based. They respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign
rights of their countries.
If the righteous many do not
confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. When decent people
and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction
only gather power and strength.
No one has shown more
contempt for other nations and for the wellbeing of their own people
than the depraved regime in North Korea. It is responsible for the
starvation deaths of millions of North Koreans, and for the
imprisonment, torture, killing, and oppression of countless more.
We were all witness to the regime's deadly abuse when an
innocent American college student, Otto Warmbier, was returned to
America only to die a few days later. We saw it in the assassination
of the dictator's brother using banned nerve agents in an
international airport. We know it kidnapped a sweet 13-year-old
Japanese girl from a beach in her own country to enslave her as a
language tutor for North Korea's spies.
If this is not
twisted enough, now North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear
weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with
unthinkable loss of human life.
It is an outrage that some
nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm,
supply, and financially support a country that imperils the world
with nuclear conflict. No nation on earth has an interest in seeing
this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles.
The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is
forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to
totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for
himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and
able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That’s what the
United Nations is all about; that’s what the United Nations is for.
Let’s see how they do.
It is time for North Korea to realize
that the denuclearization is its only acceptable future. The United
Nations Security Council recently held two unanimous 15-0 votes
adopting hard-hitting resolutions against North Korea, and I want to
thank China and Russia for joining the vote to impose sanctions,
along with all of the other members of the Security Council. Thank
you to all involved.
But we must do much more. It is time for
all nations to work together to isolate the Kim regime until it
ceases its hostile behavior.
We face this decision not only
in North Korea. It is far past time for the nations of the world to
confront another reckless regime -- one that speaks openly of mass
murder, vowing death to America, destruction to Israel, and ruin for
many leaders and nations in this room.
The Iranian
government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a
democracy. It has turned a wealthy country with a rich history and
culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief
exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. The longest-suffering
victims of Iran's leaders are, in fact, its own people.
Rather than use its resources to improve Iranian lives, its oil
profits go to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill innocent
Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli neighbors. This
wealth, which rightly belongs to Iran's people, also goes to shore
up Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship, fuel Yemen's civil war, and
undermine peace throughout the entire Middle East.
We cannot
let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities while
building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if
it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear
program. (Applause.) The Iran Deal was one of the worst and most
one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.
Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I
don’t think you’ve heard the last of it -- believe me.
It is
time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran's
government end its pursuit of death and destruction. It is time for
the regime to free all Americans and citizens of other nations that
they have unjustly detained. And above all, Iran's government must
stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people, and
respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors.
The entire
world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and,
other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's
people are what their leaders fear the most. This is what causes the
regime to restrict Internet access, tear down satellite dishes,
shoot unarmed student protestors, and imprison political reformers.
Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come
when the Iranian people will face a choice. Will they continue down
the path of poverty, bloodshed, and terror? Or will the Iranian
people return to the nation's proud roots as a center of
civilization, culture, and wealth where their people can be happy
and prosperous once again?
The Iranian regime's support for
terror is in stark contrast to the recent commitments of many of its
neighbors to fight terrorism and halt its financing.
In Saudi
Arabia early last year, I was greatly honored to address the leaders
of more than 50 Arab and Muslim nations. We agreed that all
responsible nations must work together to confront terrorists and
the Islamist extremism that inspires them.
We will stop
radical Islamic terrorism because we cannot allow it to tear up our
nation, and indeed to tear up the entire world.
We must deny
the terrorists safe haven, transit, funding, and any form of support
for their vile and sinister ideology. We must drive them out of our
nations. It is time to expose and hold responsible those countries
who support and finance terror groups like al Qaeda, Hezbollah, the
Taliban and others that slaughter innocent people.
The United
States and our allies are working together throughout the Middle
East to crush the loser terrorists and stop the reemergence of safe
havens they use to launch attacks on all of our people.
Last
month, I announced a new strategy for victory in the fight against
this evil in Afghanistan. From now on, our security interests will
dictate the length and scope of military operations, not arbitrary
benchmarks and timetables set up by politicians.
I have also
totally changed the rules of engagement in our fight against the
Taliban and other terrorist groups. In Syria and Iraq, we have made
big gains toward lasting defeat of ISIS. In fact, our country has
achieved more against ISIS in the last eight months than it has in
many, many years combined.
We seek the de-escalation of the
Syrian conflict, and a political solution that honors the will of
the Syrian people. The actions of the criminal regime of Bashar
al-Assad, including the use of chemical weapons against his own
citizens -- even innocent children -- shock the conscience of every
decent person. No society can be safe if banned chemical weapons are
allowed to spread. That is why the United States carried out a
missile strike on the airbase that launched the attack.
We
appreciate the efforts of United Nations agencies that are providing
vital humanitarian assistance in areas liberated from ISIS, and we
especially thank Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon for their role in
hosting refugees from the Syrian conflict.
The United States
is a compassionate nation and has spent billions and billions of
dollars in helping to support this effort. We seek an approach to
refugee resettlement that is designed to help these horribly treated
people, and which enables their eventual return to their home
countries, to be part of the rebuilding process.
For the cost
of resettling one refugee in the United States, we can assist more
than 10 in their home region. Out of the goodness of our hearts, we
offer financial assistance to hosting countries in the region, and
we support recent agreements of the G20 nations that will seek to
host refugees as close to their home countries as possible. This is
the safe, responsible, and humanitarian approach.
For
decades, the United States has dealt with migration challenges here
in the Western Hemisphere. We have learned that, over the long term,
uncontrolled migration is deeply unfair to both the sending and the
receiving countries.
For the sending countries, it reduces
domestic pressure to pursue needed political and economic reform,
and drains them of the human capital necessary to motivate and
implement those reforms.
For the receiving countries, the
substantial costs of uncontrolled migration are borne overwhelmingly
by low-income citizens whose concerns are often ignored by both
media and government.
I want to salute the work of the United
Nations in seeking to address the problems that cause people to flee
from their homes. The United Nations and African Union led
peacekeeping missions to have invaluable contributions in
stabilizing conflicts in Africa. The United States continues to lead
the world in humanitarian assistance, including famine prevention
and relief in South Sudan, Somalia, and northern Nigeria and Yemen.
We have invested in better health and opportunity all over
the world through programs like PEPFAR, which funds AIDS relief; the
President's Malaria Initiative; the Global Health Security Agenda;
the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery; and the Women Entrepreneurs
Finance Initiative, part of our commitment to empowering women all
across the globe.
We also thank -- (applause) -- we also
thank the Secretary General for recognizing that the United Nations
must reform if it is to be an effective partner in confronting
threats to sovereignty, security, and prosperity. Too often the
focus of this organization has not been on results, but on
bureaucracy and process.
In some cases, states that seek to
subvert this institution's noble aims have hijacked the very systems
that are supposed to advance them. For example, it is a massive
source of embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments
with egregious human rights records sit on the U.N. Human Rights
Council.
The United States is one out of 193 countries in
the United Nations, and yet we pay 22 percent of the entire budget
and more. In fact, we pay far more than anybody realizes. The United
States bears an unfair cost burden, but, to be fair, if it could
actually accomplish all of its stated goals, especially the goal of
peace, this investment would easily be well worth it.
Major
portions of the world are in conflict and some, in fact, are going
to hell. But the powerful people in this room, under the guidance
and auspices of the United Nations, can solve many of these vicious
and complex problems.
The American people hope that one day
soon the United Nations can be a much more accountable and effective
advocate for human dignity and freedom around the world. In the
meantime, we believe that no nation should have to bear a
disproportionate share of the burden, militarily or financially.
Nations of the world must take a greater role in promoting secure
and prosperous societies in their own regions.
That is why
in the Western Hemisphere, the United States has stood against the
corrupt and destabilizing regime in Cuba and embraced the enduring
dream of the Cuban people to live in freedom. My administration
recently announced that we will not lift sanctions on the Cuban
government until it makes fundamental reforms.
We have also
imposed tough, calibrated sanctions on the socialist Maduro regime
in Venezuela, which has brought a once thriving nation to the brink
of total collapse.
The socialist dictatorship of Nicolas
Maduro has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people
of that country. This corrupt regime destroyed a prosperous nation
by imposing a failed ideology that has produced poverty and misery
everywhere it has been tried. To make matters worse, Maduro has
defied his own people, stealing power from their elected
representatives to preserve his disastrous rule.
The
Venezuelan people are starving and their country is collapsing.
Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. This situation is
completely unacceptable and we cannot stand by and watch.
As
a responsible neighbor and friend, we and all others have a goal.
That goal is to help them regain their freedom, recover their
country, and restore their democracy. I would like to thank leaders
in this room for condemning the regime and providing vital support
to the Venezuelan people.
The United States has taken
important steps to hold the regime accountable. We are prepared to
take further action if the government of Venezuela persists on its
path to impose authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people.
We are fortunate to have incredibly strong and healthy trade
relationships with many of the Latin American countries gathered
here today. Our economic bond forms a critical foundation for
advancing peace and prosperity for all of our people and all of our
neighbors.
I ask every country represented here today to be
prepared to do more to address this very real crisis. We call for
the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in
Venezuela. (Applause.)
The problem in Venezuela is not that
socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been
faithfully implemented. (Applause.) From the Soviet Union to Cuba to
Venezuela, wherever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it
has delivered anguish and devastation and failure. Those who preach
the tenets of these discredited ideologies only contribute to the
continued suffering of the people who live under these cruel
systems.
America stands with every person living under a
brutal regime. Our respect for sovereignty is also a call for
action. All people deserve a government that cares for their safety,
their interests, and their wellbeing, including their prosperity.
In America, we seek stronger ties of business and trade with
all nations of good will, but this trade must be fair and it must be
reciprocal.
For too long, the American people were told that
mammoth multinational trade deals, unaccountable international
tribunals, and powerful global bureaucracies were the best way to
promote their success. But as those promises flowed, millions of
jobs vanished and thousands of factories disappeared. Others gamed
the system and broke the rules. And our great middle class, once the
bedrock of American prosperity, was forgotten and left behind, but
they are forgotten no more and they will never be forgotten again.
While America will pursue cooperation and commerce with
other nations, we are renewing our commitment to the first duty of
every government: the duty of our citizens. This bond is the source
of America's strength and that of every responsible nation
represented here today.
If this organization is to have any
hope of successfully confronting the challenges before us, it will
depend, as President Truman said some 70 years ago, on the
"independent strength of its members." If we are to embrace the
opportunities of the future and overcome the present dangers
together, there can be no substitute for strong, sovereign, and
independent nations -- nations that are rooted in their histories
and invested in their destinies; nations that seek allies to
befriend, not enemies to conquer; and most important of all, nations
that are home to patriots, to men and women who are willing to
sacrifice for their countries, their fellow citizens, and for all
that is best in the human spirit.
In remembering the great
victory that led to this body's founding, we must never forget that
those heroes who fought against evil also fought for the nations
that they loved.
Patriotism led the Poles to die to save
Poland, the French to fight for a free France, and the Brits to
stand strong for Britain.
Today, if we do not invest
ourselves, our hearts, and our minds in our nations, if we will not
build strong families, safe communities, and healthy societies for
ourselves, no one can do it for us.
We cannot wait for
someone else, for faraway countries or far-off bureaucrats -- we
can't do it. We must solve our problems, to build our prosperity, to
secure our futures, or we will be vulnerable to decay, domination,
and defeat.
The true question for the United Nations today,
for people all over the world who hope for better lives for
themselves and their children, is a basic one: Are we still
patriots? Do we love our nations enough to protect their sovereignty
and to take ownership of their futures? Do we revere them enough to
defend their interests, preserve their cultures, and ensure a
peaceful world for their citizens?
One of the greatest
American patriots, John Adams, wrote that the American Revolution
was "effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the
minds and hearts of the people."
That was the moment when
America awoke, when we looked around and understood that we were a
nation. We realized who we were, what we valued, and what we would
give our lives to defend. From its very first moments, the American
story is the story of what is possible when people take ownership of
their future.
The United States of America has been among the
greatest forces for good in the history of the world, and the
greatest defenders of sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all.
Now we are calling for a great reawakening of nations, for
the revival of their spirits, their pride, their people, and their
patriotism.
History is asking us whether we are up to the
task. Our answer will be a renewal of will, a rediscovery of
resolve, and a rebirth of devotion. We need to defeat the enemies of
humanity and unlock the potential of life itself.
Our hope is
a word and -- world of proud, independent nations that embrace their
duties, seek friendship, respect others, and make common cause in
the greatest shared interest of all: a future of dignity and peace
for the people of this wonderful Earth.
This is the true
vision of the United Nations, the ancient wish of every people, and
the deepest yearning that lives inside every sacred soul.
So
let this be our mission, and let this be our message to the world:
We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for
peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for
the almighty God who made us all.
Thank you. God bless you.
God bless the nations of the world. And God bless the United States
of America. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
