Trump to tout American sovereignty, North Korea rapprochement in United Nations address

Trump and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at the General Assembly

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 25 September 2018

President Trump's first day at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York City was spent at a counternarcotics meeting and with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, with whom he signed a revised U.S.-South Korea trade agreement. It was also largely overshadowed by chaos in his own administration tied to his Supreme Court nomination and the job status of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. On Tuesday, Trump will address the General Assembly, and White House officials say he will assert U.S. sovereignty and defend his decisions to engage with North Korea and withdraw the U.S. from multilateral decisions on climate change and Iran's nuclear program.

"Such rhetoric, when delivered from the dais of the General Assembly chamber, was a shock last year," says Ishaan Tharoor at The Washington Post. "But as Trump makes his second appearance at the United Nations as president, no world leader or foreign dignitary will be surprised to hear more of the same." On Wednesday, Trump will chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council where he is expected to focus on Iran, even as other key members of the Security Council are meeting at the General Assembly to explore ways of salvaging the Iran nuclear deal amid U.S. sanctions and threats.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox