Over the past fortnight, a series of developments have underscored the growing influence of the United States on the global stage, both economically and militarily, with domestic political dynamics increasingly aligning behind President Trump. His address to the United Nations on September 23 stood out as a rare moment in diplomatic history, where the leader of a major power delivered a pointed critique to representatives from 193 nations. The speech opened with a light-hearted anecdote about a malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter issues, which he used to draw a parallel to his earlier proposal to renovate the UN building—offering superior quality at less than 25 percent of the cost and within a tighter schedule than the chosen contractor.
The tone shifted as he launched into a broader critique of the organization, accusing it of generating little more than rhetorical noise. He singled out two key issues he views as undermining effective governance: unchecked immigration and what he described as the flawed push for sustainable energy. Trump noted that prior to his administration, approximately 15 million individuals had entered the U.S. illegally—a practice he claimed has now been fully halted. He criticized UN-affiliated programs for indirectly supporting irregular migration and warned that Europe’s current immigration trajectory is unsustainable over the long term.
On climate policy, he dismissed the notion that climate change poses an existential threat, calling it the largest deception in modern history. He argued that earlier concerns about global cooling gave way to warming, which then evolved into the broader term “climate change,” none of which, in his view, reflects measurable reality. He highlighted that Western Europe had spent heavily to cut its carbon emissions by over 30 percent, while global emissions rose by more than 60 percent, rendering such efforts ineffective. Renewable energy projects, particularly large-scale wind turbines, were labeled as economic failures—prone to breakdowns, environmentally disruptive, harmful to bird populations, and largely manufactured in China, a country that itself does not rely on such technology.
Trump did not shy away from naming specific nations. He praised Germany’s new government for reevaluating its stance on climate policy. While he greeted Brazil’s president warmly upon arrival, he later criticized the South American nation for corruption, suppression of dissent, and internal instability, noting they would discuss these matters privately. Regarding the war in Ukraine, he placed responsibility on Russia and suggested that secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil and gas could compel Moscow to withdraw. He expressed frustration that European NATO members had concealed their continued large-scale purchases of Russian energy, which effectively funded the very conflict they claim to oppose through military aid to Ukraine. He refrained from mocking this contradiction outright but indicated he would address it directly with European leaders present at the assembly.
Compared to his first-term appearance at the UN, where his remarks were met with distraction and indifference, this year’s audience listened intently and responded with sustained applause at both the beginning and end of his speech. The geopolitical weight of the United States appears more pronounced than at any point since the late Reagan or even Eisenhower administrations. This resurgence has been amplified by Trump’s consolidating grip on domestic politics. The memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Phoenix on September 21, attended by Trump and senior officials before an audience of around 80,000, served as a platform to reaffirm the administration’s alignment with Judeo-Christian values, expressed in a manner respectful of diverse religious beliefs.
Though only indirectly referenced, the Democratic Party was implicitly contrasted with extremist and irreligious forces, especially given their perceived focus on cancel culture—such as the dismissal of a comedian over offensive comments about Kirk—while showing less concern over Kirk’s assassination. At the UN, Trump emphasized the persecution faced by Christians worldwide and condemned those who criticize Israel without acknowledging the events of October 7, 2023.
The renewed strength of American economic and military capabilities, combined with the resolute leadership of its president, continues to shape international dynamics. Despite occasional rhetorical excesses, the focused direction of U.S. policy under this administration represents a uniquely influential force in global affairs—an outcome many see as beneficial.
— news from Brussels Signal
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The determination of Trump means the reviving economic and military power of the US
A variety of events in the last two weeks have accentuated a trend by which the United States steadily enhances its position of leadership and authority in the West, and the underlying correlation of domestic political forces within the United States continues to move in favour of President Trump. Trump’s speech on September 23 to the United Nations was an astonishing and unique address to the representatives of the world’s 193 accredited nations by the leader of a Great Power. He excoriated the United Nations as an incompetent, ineffectual, extravagant and misguided epicentre of hypocrisy and wrong-headedness. He began with a hilarious description of the escalator stopping a few minutes before as he and his wife were ascending it, and the fact that his teleprompter was not working. He said that this was of a piece with his bid years before to renovate the United Nations building, which he said, he had offered to do to a much higher standard and at less than a quarter of the cost and on a much tighter timetable than was provided by the competitor the United Nations selected to do the work. n nThe rest of his critique of the international organisation was less jocular. He stated that its chief function was the production of ”empty words”, and particularly blamed it for supporting the two mortal threats to successful government in the current world, which he identified as unregulated immigration and mindless pursuit of the fraud of sustainable energy. He referred to the 15 million people who had entered the United States illegally prior to his current administration, which had entirely ended that practice. He rebuked the United Nations agencies that had subsidised illegal immigration into the United States through misdirected programmes and declared that Europe was now allowing the entry of undesirable people on a scale the continent could not survive indefinitely. n nHe described the whole argument that climate change was imperilling life on earth as the most monstrous hoax in the history of the world. He said that global cooling was succeeded by global warming and settled into climate change since neither of the other was actually occurring to a significant extent, and referred to the immensely costly efforts that Western Europe had made to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 30 per cent, even as the world’s carbon footprint increased by over 60 per cent. He pointed out that every warning the United Nations had issued on the subject had been proved to have been unfounded, and particularly noted that giant windmills had been a total failure, that they constantly broke, damaged the environment aesthetically, killed huge numbers of birds, were completely uneconomical, and were entirely produced by China, which did not, however, have any recourse at all to wind power itself. n nHe did not hesitate to commend or denounce individual countries. The new German government earned the president’s praise for reversing course on global warming and although he had embraced the president of Brazil on his way in to address the General Assembly, he condemned Brazil for corruption, oppression of political opponents, and national disintegration, but said that he and the Brazilian president would discuss it later in the day privately. Trump clearly blamed the Ukraine war on Russia and said that the United States could force Russia to desist by imposing secondary sanctions on those who financed that war by buying Russian oil and gas. But he pointed out that the European NATO allies had withheld from him until a few weeks ago the fact that they were buying Russian oil and gas in such quantities that it effectively financed the war that they were trying to stop by buying sophisticated weapons from the United States and donating them to the Ukrainians. The absurdity of this policy and the pusillanimity of the European powers in making unctuous and purposeful noises about the Ukraine war and ramping up their opposition to Russia while continuing to finance that war was so contemptible that he withheld his notorious talents at ridicule and said that he would be discussing it with the European leaders, most of whom were present, later in the afternoon. n nWhen he spoke at the UN in his first term, the audience was restless and not especially attentive, and there was a lack of seriousness. On Tuesday, his remarks were paid close attention and he was generously applauded when he began and when he concluded. The overwhelming influence of the United States in the world was more conspicuous than at any time since late in the term of President Reagan, if not President Eisenhower. This has been enhanced by the ever greater domination of the domestic political processes of the United States by this President. The extraordinary memorial service conducted for the late conservative Republican and Christian organiser and influencer Charlie Kirk in Phoenix Arizona on Sunday, September 21, enabled President Trump, who along with most of the prominent members of his administration addressed the gathering of approximately 80,000 people, in terms that were entirely tolerant of all religious opinions, to ally his Republican administration closely with the Judeo-Christian traditions of the country. n nAnd while it was only hinted at, the Democrats, who have generally been more concerned with the dismissal of a late-night television entertainer for tasteless remarks about Kirk than they were at the assassination of Kirk, were effectively arrayed with the forces of political extremism, violence, and godlessness. He touched upon this theme at the United Nations when he referred to Christians as the most persecuted religion in the world and denounced the critics of Israel for having forgotten October 7, 2023. The reviving economic and military power of America and the unstoppable determination of its leader weigh steadily more heavily upon the world. Despite stylistic infelicities, there is today no force on earth remotely as powerful as the decisively focused direction of the United States government, and this is an objectively good thing.