The regressive left is universally decrying Donald Trump’s speech to the United Nations on Tuesday. Here are some of the critical headlines, which are not to be mistaken with the truth:
‘Trump’s menacing United Nations speech, annotated’ – The Washington Post
‘Trump’s speech ‘most atrocious’ by a US pres’ – MSNBC
‘Trump’s UN speech shows nationalist instincts firmly intact’ – Reuters
‘Donald Trump U.N. Speech is What Kim Jong-Un Wanted to Hear’ – Time
The left’s many crony media outlets are already parsing the president’s claims about the economy and ‘foreign issues,' despite these being insignificant within the greater context of a truly great monologue. Sniping about minor factual inaccuracies– most of which are not inaccuracies at all– while ignoring the significance and truth of Trump’s greater messages has become the primary tactic in the mission to paint the President as a liar, a man not to be trusted.
Most critics have not taken the time to read a transcript of the speech. If they had, they would understand why this is precisely the man that the American majority trusted with the fate of the Western world. Reagan he is not, but he delivered a bold, honest message to the world’s leaders that Ronny and the Founding Fathers would have been proud of.
For those who casted their vote in hope that Donald Trump would be a pillar of unequivocal American strength, the President’s edict to the world leaders in attendance at the U.N. General Assembly more than delivered. Even those who have become understandably skeptical of the President as a result of his reported agreement with Democratic leadership pertaining to DACA would likely admit this speech reflected the values that attracted them to Trump in the first place.
Like all politicians, the words must be followed by corresponding action. But words do matter, and a speech that espouses American strength and international sovereignty amidst an increasingly chaotic, unstable world are the breath of fresh air proud Americans have been yearning for.
Plus, Hillary Clinton deemed the speech ‘dark and dangerous.’ That alone tells you it was damn good. A full reading of the speech, which I will also summarize, is worth the time. The disdain from the left, over words unequivocally condemning evil and promoting the strength of all nations not run by dictators, shows just how far the left has fallen. It exposes how opposed they are to principles of sovereignty for every nation, without interference from global bodies seeking dangerous levels of control in violating that sovereignty.
The full transcript is available here.
For those looking for an honest accounting of Trump’s message, certain quotes and their implications qualify as standouts, and I will maintain a chronological order in this summary.
Trump began by expressing his sympathy for the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and his appreciation for the international leaders who have offered to assist in the recovery however they can:
“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.”
Let’s see how Stephen Colbert spins this statement as another attempt by the President to turn a tragedy into an opportunity for self-praise. As an American, Colbert will surely prove once again resilient in his ability to demonize the most noble of the President’s gestures.
Trump then moved on to job growth, the stock market’s broken records under his watch, record unemployment, the repeal of burdensome regulations, and other indicators of economic health. This, most likely, is where the left will accuse him of dishonesty, despite the New York Times confirming most of his assertions. Drilling and the energy sectors have shown gains, too, speaking to Trump’s assertion about job growth. Those who understand the historical impact of the conservative economic principles and policies that Trump has only begun to enact know that if the economy is not yet seeing the direct positive effects of Trumponomics, it will eventually.
But make no mistake, Trump’s speech had little to do with domestic affairs. Its implications were far greater in scope.
After touching briefly on opportunity and the evolution of technology, he addressed the topics that warrant the most attention. The uncomfortable, frightening truths that many on the left would have us ignore:
“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.”
The left will call this fearmongering. Most of us call it the cold, hard truth. He even called out some of the leaders in attendance at the Assembly:
“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.”
Confronting evil, and doing so in the most direct manner possible– while stopping short of naming names– is exactly the boldness that Trump was elected upon. It defies the weak, submissive foreign policy of the Obama administration, who would rather arm and cozy up to terror-sponsoring states than hold them accountable.
Good luck to the Antifa members and other fresh-out-of-college, soon to be Gender Studies adjunct professors accusing the president of fascism in trying to reconcile this comment:
“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.”
He even took some time to address the Clinton Foundation, and the Obama administration’s Fast and Furious debacle, and George Soros specifically in stating these facts:
“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.”
Trump’s reminder of Europe and America’s shared history might as well have served as a direct refutation of all the European Union represents, and the values– sovereignty in particular– that it continues to threaten through migrant quotas, border-erasing lawmaking practices, and its many other dangerous principles and tactics:
“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… 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.”
He added that, while the world’s nations are diverse, we cannot expect individual nations to adopt the cultures of another. Clearly, he is speaking to the dangers of the mass immigration and resulting culture clashes that we have seen occurring in nations like Sweden, Germany, England, and many others. Make no mistake: these words– sovereignty, independence– are in direct contrast to what the European Union has become, to what they are working so desperately to maintain.
In the vein of sovereignty, Trump went on to reinforce that his primary role was to look out for Americans, just as the leaders in attendance should put their own people first and foremost in all that they do.
“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.
All responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own citizens, and the nation-state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition,” adding that this was not mutually exclusive with harmony between independent nations.
Trump said that the American doctrine was one of principled realism, not one governed by a static, unchanging, and uncompromising ideology. He urged that other leaders should adopt a similar principle in facing the unique issues that each nation faces.
Then he began to get specific. He began to call out the nations, leaders, and conflicts which he believes stand as threats to the sovereignty which he, and most Americans, understand is vital to maintaining peace and tamping down the aggression that often leads to state-sanctioned bloodshed. He began with the big dogs, Russia and China:
“We must reject threats to sovereignty, from the Ukraine to the South China Sea.”
But the President immediately followed this brief allusion to Russian and Chinese aggression by parsing no words as he addressed the most bellicose, insolent leader of all: Kim Jong-Un. Perhaps you can understand how these words are ‘what Kim Jong-Un wanted to hear’, as Time stated. I sure don’t.
“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.”
Stating facts which illustrate the extent of the humanitarian atrocities carried out by the North Korean government seems antithetical to what Kim would want. Further exposing these realities seems to stand in contrast to Kim’s subjugation of the North Korean people through both propaganda and force. These atrocities– torture, killing, and other forms of oppression upon his own people– must be stated repeatedly, as to not lose sight of just how evil a regime the world faces in North Korea.
Trump pointed to the death of American student Otto Warmbier, the kidnapping and enslavement of a 13-year-old Japanese girl, the assassination of Kim’s uncle via anti-aircraft weaponry, and its current pursuit of further nuclear ballistic missile technology in further detailing the danger of apathy toward this rogue state.
And, again, he took a well-deserved – and very obvious – shot at China and Russia’s continued enabling of the Kim regime:
“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.”
Trump made America’s intentions clear should the dynamic with respect to North Korea remain unchanged, or escalated.
“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.”
Trump continued to lobby for complete isolation of the Kim regime, then proceeded to focus on other nations considered to be facilitators of terror and oppressors of its own peoples, beginning with Iran:
“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.”
He elaborated on the way in which Iran deprives its own people of the nation’s natural riches, and its support of the Assad regime in Syria:
“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.”
Trump pulled no punches when it comes to his, most Americans’, and nearly all Israelis’ disdain for the Iranian nuclear deal that Obama unilaterally entered into:
“…we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program. The Iran Deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
Then, again, Trump pleaded to the Assembly members not to sit idly by, but to join America in overpowering these rogue nations through sanctions and, if need be, force. He made clear that it is not the Iranian people he sees as a threat, only the nation’s self-serving leaders. In fact, it is the Iranian people who have stood to lose most– perhaps behind only Israelis– from the maintenance of its radical government:
“It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran's government end its pursuit of death and destruction.
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.”
This specificity in identifying and crucifying Iranian leadership that in the past has not only been let off the hook, but allowed to further nuclear development, is the epitome of what the United Nations professes to represent, but most often fails to truly impose: international accountability.
Trump condemned Bashar al-Assad for his ongoing war against his own people, particularly his use of chemical weapons. The President stated that he seeks the de-escalation of this conflict and the freedom of the Syrian people. He explained that Syrian re-settlement is a worthy cause, but that the ultimate goal must be to resettle them in their home, Syria, not to disperse them across a Western world in a way which has already proven disastrous for all parties involved.
He explains eloquently how both parties lose from such an approach to resettlement:
“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.”
He then thanked the United Nations for their efforts in de-escalating conflicts in Africa and combatting disease and warfare that persistently plague the continent. Yet, Trump espoused criticism for the hypocrisy that the UN often shows. Particularly, the fact that many nations known for committing human rights atrocities sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council. He also lamented the fact that many nations exploit supposed humanitarian aid issued by the U.N. to further enrich themselves.
Trump then shifted his attention back to current regimes who continue to violate the rights and freedoms of their own people, notably Cuba and Venezuela.
“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.”
He reserved special attention for Maduro, who continues to insulate himself from opposition in the once-democratic nation as the Venezuelan people continue to live in hell.
“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.”
Trump then noted that socialism lies at the heart of the Venezuelan nightmare, a message that Bernie Sanders supporters would be wise to consider carefully:
“The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented. 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.”
Trump then addressed the American people, and explained how they have been put on the back-burner in favor of poorly conceived international trade deals and agreements. It is a poignant statement, and it is perhaps the part of his speech that most reflects why Americans turned to him in a time of dire need:
“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.”
And, Trump turned again to the past to reinforce the importance of preserving sovereignty today.
“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.”
We don’t want to fight, but at times, we must. And when we must, we fight for our family, our brethren, our countrymen, our values, our culture, our traditions.
We do not fight for some intangible, heavy-handed European Union or the visions of unelected officials who stand to destroy sovereignty and the rule of the people. This essential truth is at the heart of President Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, and it applies to all nations that truly believe in, and whose people deserve, to live in freedom.
I leave you with one final quote, one series of rhetorical questions which summarize why President Trump’s speech is being praised on the right as monumental, and criticized by the regressive left as standing against all that they believe in. They are questions that, depending on how the majorities in still-Democratic nations answer them, will determine the fate of our children’s world:
“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?
