Trump rips the U.N. as 'just a club' for people to 'have a good time'
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday afternoon took to Twitter to air his thoughts about the United Nations, and he apparently doesn't think much of the international diplomacy group:
Trump did say the organization has "such great potential" but neglects to use it, calling the state of the U.N. "so sad!" Trump's missive was met with some criticism, with some former U.N. personnel attacking it as tone-deaf.
On Friday, the U.N. Security Council voted through a resolution demanding Israel cease to build settlements in disputed lands in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The U.S. declined to exercise its veto power, a decision Trump slammed; Trump's ambassador to Israel has called for moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, which would upend decades of precedent. Israel already announced Monday that it would proceed with its settlement-building in East Jerusalem, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief the Trump administration on intelligence it gathered allegedly proving President Obama spearheaded the U.N. resolution against Israeli settlement-building.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
5 snappily written cartoons about vanishing food stamp benefitsCartoons Artists take on SNAP recipients, Halloween generosity, and more
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
Sudan stands on the brink of another national schismThe Explainer With tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, one of Africa’s most severe outbreaks of sectarian violence is poised to take a dramatic turn for the worse
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
