Trump Prepares UN Speech While Steering U.S. Further from Global Cooperation

23 September 2025

As President Donald Trump heads into a major address at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2025, he is expected to outline a foreign policy vision that digs deeper into his “America First” agenda sparking concerns about the United States’ evolving global role and its commitment to long-standing international norms.

Eight months into his second term, Trump has enacted sweeping changes to U.S. foreign policy that include substantial cuts to foreign aid, sweeping tariff policies targeting both courteous allies and rivals, and maintaining a less predictable diplomatic posture toward Russia. These moves have fueled questions from global leaders about whether America can still credibly serve as a pillar of international leadership.

At the UN gathering this week, Trump will appear among some 150 heads of state or government. He is slated to be the second scheduled speaker once the session opens in New York. His agenda is expected to include proposals to sharply narrow the rights to asylum by requiring asylum seekers to seek protection in the first country they enter rather than travel to a preferred destination, a policy shift that could alter post-World War II protections for displaced persons.

White House documents reviewed by Reuters suggest that this speech aims to recast U.S. multilateralism not as soft engagement but as transactional relationships. Trump’s administration appears poised to demand reforms of international bodies and assert that U.S. resources should no longer underwrite global operations seen as ineffective. Trump has argued that the U.N. has “great potential” but must get its “act together” under threat of reduced U.S. backing if it fails to conform to what he views as realistic performance goals.

Amid the diplomatic repositioning, Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Argentina’s Javier Milei. A multilateral session is also expected with leaders from key regions including the Middle East and Southeast Asia. These meetings are being watched closely as signals of how much bilateral cooperation still matters when U.S. multilateral engagement is being questioned.

The backdrop to these developments includes growing disquiet over U.S. reductions in global aid that have stirred humanitarian concerns, especially in conflict zones like Gaza and Ukraine. These reductions raise tensions with countries and international organizations that rely on American support.

Calls for recognition of a Palestinian state have also been gathering strength around the assembly. Many world leaders are renewing their demands for this issue even as the U.S. and Israel firmly oppose statehood under current conditions. The discord over this matter underscores how American foreign policy is under growing scrutiny about whether it is adapting to evolving global expectations or resisting them.

For the United Nations itself, these shifts pose existential questions regarding its operational future. With the U.S. being a major funder, its cuts have already triggered staff reductions and cost trimming at several U.N. agencies. Secretary-General António Guterres has been pushing for efficiency reforms to adapt to the possibility of sustained lower U.S. contribution.

For many observers this moment crystallizes a turning point: not just a speech but a test of whether America will continue to lead through coalition building or retreat into more isolated policymaking. The world awaits whether Trump’s voice at the U.N. will offer a vision of engagement that aligns with allies or one that puts national interest so first that it rewrites how global cooperation operates.

The policy changes being sung in the run up to this address reflect both his campaign promises and the complications of governing in a world where diplomatic ties, trade networks, and global crises demand both collaboration and credibility. Should the direction he sets today become doctrine it may reshape international norms including asylum law, foreign aid, environmental agreements, and the architecture of global institutions.