Trump UNGA Speech Highlights: More than 140 world leaders will descend upon New York City this week for the UN General Assembly — discussing efforts to secure global peace and security. Much of the discussions are expected to focus on the Ukraine and Gaza wars as well as climate change and the growing use of artificial intelligence. US President Donald Trump is slated to address the summit on Tuesday, delivering his first remarks to the UNGA since returning to power in January.
The US president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza,Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.
What will Trump talk about?
According to the White House, Trump will deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements He is also expected to decry the ways in which “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order”. The POTUS will also hold hold one-on-one meetings with UN secretary general António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the EU following his speech.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would also tout “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars.
The US President is also slated to hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Trump is likely to discuss a wide range of issues — including his principles for postwar governance in Gaza.
Gaza war and Palestinian recognition
Much of the focus will be on the Israel-Palestine conflict — with the UNGA coming amid growing calls for a ceasefire and implementation of a two-state solution. Several countries including the UK, France and Australia have moved to recognise the Palestinian state this month in a bid to ramp up pressure on Israel.
Trump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the US and Israel vehemently oppose. The White House said Trump sees the push as “just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.” Trump, for his part, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s address has tried to keep focus on getting agreement on a ceasefire that leads Hamas to releasing its remaining 48 hostages, including 20 still believed be alive.
80th Session of UN General Assembly 2025 LIVE Updates:
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: Guterres says humanity has entered ‘age of reckless disruption’
“We have entered in an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering,” Antonio Guterres said while opening the UN General Assembly’s meeting.
Thus began a week of speeches in which leaders and nations lay out their grievances, priorities and proposals about how to make things better.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: UNGA meeting under way, Guterres delivers address
The General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly has now begun. UN Chief Antonio Guterres is now delivering his address.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: Macron calls Trump after getting stuck in NYC traffic | Video
French President Emmanuel Macron faced an unexpected delay after addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The politician had just departed the UN building when he found himself stuck in a traffic blockade due to the Presidential motorcade.
Visuals shared online showed the French leader making a call to Donald Trump to share his plight.
“Guess what? I’m stuck in the street because everything’s blocked for you.”
The street was later cleared, but only for pedestrians which made Macron stand in the middle of the street while continuing his conversation with Trump, before finally making his way to the French Embassy on foot.
Read More: Emmanuel Macron calls Trump after getting stuck in NYC traffic blocked by President’s motorcade
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: ‘Trump will challenge feckless UN to live up to its potential’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump would call for the UNGA to act on various crises instead of just debating them. He also noted that in his private life, the POTUS had once offered to help renovate the UN headquarters in New York but was turned down.
“I think what the president’s going to do is challenge the UN to find its meaning and its purpose and its utility as an organization because it it doesn’t seem to be doing the job,” he said during a Fox News interview.
“I think it’s emblematic of how feckless the U.N. has become as an organization. It’s just a place where once a year a bunch of people meet and give speeches and write out a bunch of letters and statements but not a lot of good, important action is happening. The UN has a lot of potential but it’s not living up to it right now,” he added.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: How Trump has dialled down US involvement in UN
World leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the UN General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish US support for the world body in his first eight months in office.
After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end American participation in the UN Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of US membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: Who will address the UN General Assembly alongside Trump?
US President Donald Trump will be the second world leader to address the UNGA today — following in the wake of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The session will be opened by UN Secretary General António Guterres with Assembly president Annalena Baerbock delivering the subsequent remarks. They will be followed by 32 heads of state today — with 16 speaking during the morning session.
According to the official schedule, Lula will be the first to address the UN General Assembly. Trump will be followed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: Secret Service dismantles ‘imminent telecommunications threat’ near venue
According to a New York Times report, the US Secret Service has uncovered and dismantled a covert, high-tech operation in the New York area. It reportedly had the capability to disrupt cellular networks and interfere with emergency communication services. The discovery came even as world leaders prepared to attend the annual summit.
Authorities reportedly revealed that the hidden communications system included over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. It was designed to allow anonymous, encrypted messaging.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: When will Trump address UNGA?
According to reports, US President Donald Trump is slated to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday evening at 7:20 pm IST.
According to the White House, Trump will deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements He is also expected to decry the ways in which “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order”.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: Fighting continues as Zelenskyy seeks help in NYC
Russia said that it shot down three dozen Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow while Ukraine said that Russian missiles, drones and bombs killed at least two civilians, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy persevered with efforts to bolster international support for his country at a UN gathering of world leaders on Tuesday.
With his troops under strain on the front line after more than three years of fighting Russia’s bigger invading army, Zelensky was due to begin meetings with leaders gathered in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.
Peace efforts set in motion by US President Donald Trump since he returned to office in January appear to have stalled. Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and key European leaders took place more than a month ago, but the war has continued unabated.
UNGA 2025 LIVE Updates: EU Chief backs two-state solution
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her address to the 80th United Nations General Assembly, reaffirmed Europe’s commitment to a two-state solution while announcing new initiatives to support Palestine and rebuild Gaza.
“When the night is darkest, we must hold fast to our compass, and our compass is the two-state solution. Since the beginning of this war, Europe has been the lifeline of the Palestinian Authority. But we must all do more, and this is why we will set up a Palestine donor group,” she said.