Trump to address United Nations as voice of a shifting world order
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Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
| Washington
Eight years ago, when a freshman President Donald Trump rose to the green marble dais of the United Nations General Assembly hall for the first time, he was received in the cathedral of postwar multilateralism with dismissal and suspicion 鈥� even mockery.
Few seemed to take seriously an American president who appeared unsure of himself and who offered outlandish claims that might have worked with his political base, but from the U.N. assembly invited derisive laughter.
Yet Tuesday morning, when Mr. Trump takes the same stage in the first year of his second term, things are likely to be very different. He will stand at the golden stage more as the conqueror of the gasping liberal democratic internationalism 鈥� the U.N. at its apex 鈥� that he seemingly has no use for and has worked to vanquish.
Why We Wrote This
Unlike in his first, widely disrespected address to the United Nations eight years ago, President Donald Trump will face the globe鈥檚 preeminent multilateral institution as the standard-bearer of a post-multilateral era of big-power competition.
Instead of the outlier in the temple of global governance, he will speak this time to the assembly of the U.N.鈥檚 193 member states as the voice of an emerging world order of America First foreign policy and big-power competition.
To Mr. Trump鈥檚 apparent liking, it鈥檚 an order that has fading use for either international cooperation or well-intentioned but expensive global development.
鈥淭his time, Trump comes to the U.N. as it faces a post-multilateral world that he has had a very important role in delivering. So, I think his audience will perhaps reluctantly pay closer attention to what he says than some of them did in 2017,鈥� says Michael Doyle, a professor of international relations at Columbia University in New York.
鈥淭his time,鈥� he adds, 鈥渢he things he said then that were sort of freelance and outlandish and that suggested a U.S. president with almost no appreciation for the value of multilateral cooperation, are things he can do and indeed has done.鈥�
Gone from the U.S. approach to the U.N. and to multilateralism more broadly, Dr. Doyle says, is the longtime tenet of U.S. foreign policy that the United States derives a good deal of its power from cooperation with international partners.
鈥淭rump has no appreciation for the idea that things can be done with the assistance of allies that can鈥檛 be done on your own,鈥� he says.
Forced downsizing
Long the U.N.鈥檚 chief benefactor, the United States is now forcing a substantial downsizing of the global body that parallels the Trump administration鈥檚 reform and narrowing of scope 鈥� some critics say hollowing out 鈥� of the State Department.
The U.S. under President Trump has (again) pulled out of UNESCO, the U.N.鈥檚 education and cultural affairs agency, and has greatly reduced its contributions to humanitarian agencies, including the World Food Program.
On Thursday, the State Department announced a new 鈥溾�� that redirects international health spending to programs and initiatives that will make the U.S. 鈥渟afer,鈥� and reduces funding for programs the administration deems 鈥渨oke鈥� and wasteful 鈥� including family planning and women鈥檚 health.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening here is a turning away from the traditional underwriting of the U.N. by the U.S. towards a more U.S.-centric approach that devalues the idea that the U.S. has also been an outsize beneficiary of the international system,鈥� says Anjali Dayal, assistant professor of international politics at Fordham University in New York.
鈥淭he U.S. under Trump is less interested in the soft power and values that it played a key role in instilling in the international system,鈥� she adds, 鈥渁nd the U.N. is bearing the brunt of that shift.鈥�
Indeed, some say the U.S. pivot has left the United Nations at its darkest moment since its creation 80 years ago.
鈥淐learly, Trump 2.0 is going to be much more detrimental to multilateralism in general and to the U.N. in particular,鈥� says Waheguru Pal Sidhu, associate professor at New York University鈥檚 Center for Global Affairs. 鈥淲hen you have an America First foreign policy, multilateralism comes last.鈥�
Administration officials say cutting U.S. support for the U.N. and its agencies is about getting the world body 鈥渂ack to basics.鈥� On Friday the Senate confirmed Mike Waltz as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. In his confirmation hearing, President Trump鈥檚 former national security adviser said he would work to 鈥渕ake the U.N. great again鈥� by paring it back to what he described as its 鈥渃ore purpose鈥� of advancing 鈥減eace and security.鈥�
Given what Dr. Sidhu says is an 鈥渆xistential financial crisis鈥� for the U.N., Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres is undertaking a reorganization and downsizing of the institution that is based on a 30% budget cut.
鈥淥dd split screen鈥�
Yet, even as the U.S. of Donald Trump reduces its U.N. footprint, it remains the world鈥檚 most powerful nation and largest economy. That explains why Mr. Trump will be sought out for potentially valuable bilateral meetings by leaders from a wide range of countries 鈥� even as some of those same leaders might be among the grumblers at the president鈥檚 Tuesday speech, some experts in U.N. affairs say.
鈥淚 think [the General Assembly] ... is going to offer an odd split screen,鈥� Dr. Sidhu says. 鈥淥n one side, we鈥檒l see some of the same skepticism and even opposition to Trump in the auditorium that we saw in 2017, while on the other side, we鈥檒l see many countries lining up to get their one-on-one with the U.S. president.鈥�
One key reason for that, he adds, is President Trump鈥檚 turn toward tariffs as a centerpiece of U.S. trade policy 鈥� and countries鈥� quest to get the most favorable tariff rate possible for trading with the world鈥檚 largest economy.
This week鈥檚 high-level meetings in New York will also showcase how the U.S. pullback from the U.N. is ceding space and influence to a rising China.
But China is not interested in replacing the U.S. as the U.N.鈥檚 bankroller, or in assuming the mantle of leader of the postwar international order, some experts say. Instead, they see China expanding its international role through a kind of 鈥淐hina First鈥� approach to the U.N. that aims to enhance Beijing鈥檚 influence in the body鈥檚 international agencies that can benefit China most 鈥� for example, the World Trade Organization.
鈥淭he U.N. and its agencies have been very good for China, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 about to turn around and fill the vacuum of leadership left by Trump鈥檚 retreat from multilateralism,鈥� says Dr. Doyle. 鈥淏eijing values its veto on the Security Council,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd it is most interested in increasing its influence in those agencies that have played a role in China鈥檚 development and enhancing its prestige.鈥�
What remains unclear 鈥� and what Fordham鈥檚 Dr. Dayal says will have her closely watching President Trump鈥檚 speech for clues 鈥� is whether, under Trump 2.0, the United States will increasingly treat the U.N. with a benign neglect, or if it undertakes something more aggressive.
鈥淭he question now is whether the U.S. steps back and more or less leaves it at that,鈥� she says, 鈥渙r whether it actively makes [as its goal] breaking international institutions and the international consensus the U.N. represents.鈥�
鈥淣either option is positive for the U.N.,鈥� she adds, but the latter 鈥渨ould be the most challenging and even destructive for its future.鈥�
