It was a speech that shook the entire hall of the United Nations General Assembly.
In the pantheon of dramatic speeches ever delivered at the UN, it will be hard to ignore the most recent address of US President Donald Trump. In a speech combining unrestrained bluntness with deep American pathos, Trump broke through the boundaries of accepted diplomacy and launched direct arrows of criticism at the leaders of Europe, China, Iran, and Russia.
He did not stop with world leaders, but also pointed an accusing finger at humanity’s enemies: Hamas terrorists, drug cartels in South America, and human smugglers who flooded Europe with waves of refugees and undermined social stability.
Trump spoke of what many prefer to sweep under the rug: the collapse of the world order. He pointed to European leadership that has lost the ability to stand against migration crises. He attacked the uncontrolled opening of borders that brought terrorism, crime, and attempts to impose Sharia law in Western countries.
Trump did not forget to criticize leaders who are willing to sacrifice the security of their citizens in the name of false morality and pandering to the Muslim electorate.
One of the most dramatic moments in the speech came when Trump placed Iran, Russia, and China in the same equation. Each of them, he argued, acts in its own way to destabilize the world order.
He blasted Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and the war that has already lasted three and a half years; he accused China of hypocrisy for supplying the world with wind turbines while relying on coal energy itself; and regarding Iran, he hinted that he would not hesitate to stop it by force if it continues to advance its nuclear program.
For him, soft handling of the three powers is nothing short of collective suicide for the free world.
Countless times in the past, Trump has demanded that the world understand that a terrorist organization that uses children as human shields and sanctifies death is not just a local problem, but a global threat. This time, he again clarified that anyone who allows the Palestinians a state is in fact rewarding terror, and he called: “Release the hostages now, all at once.”
These words earned loud applause not only from the Israeli delegation but also echoed throughout the hall. It was a moment in which America once again raised the flag of moral struggle alongside Israel.
Trump did not spare criticism of the liberal immigration policy of his predecessor, president Joe Biden, portraying border smugglers as those who have turned human life into a commodity. Millions of refugees are crammed into rickety boats, take death marches through deserts, and become pawns in the hands of international criminals. He described the direct impact of uncontrolled migration on citizens’ sense of security, on collapsing economies, and on eroding national resilience.
Bashing the United Nations
The UN became Trump’s personal punching bag, stripped bare before the eyes of the entire world. Secretary-General António Guterres watched the speech and did not know where to bury himself. When he rose to speak, he tried to salvage a shred of the collapsing organization’s dignity, but looked more like an embarrassed clerk reciting empty statements.
As Trump spoke, cameras captured the reactions of those present. European representatives shifted uneasily, Chinese and Russian delegates wrote diligently without showing emotion, and Middle Eastern representatives exchanged tense glances.
The hall trembled not from raised voices, but from the fact that words so sharp, direct, and clear were spoken from a stage where every word is usually wrapped in diplomatic cotton.
Trump held up a mirror to the world. He did not seek to please, did not seek to appear enlightened, but exposed what other leaders try to hide. For him, leadership is not the art of compromise but the courage to tell the truth.
He called on the nations of the world to unite against organized crime, against Islamic terror, and against the silent consent of Western rulers to destroy the future of free societies.
Naturally, the speech stirred controversy. His supporters praised the directness and courage to call things by their name. His opponents claimed Trump mixed facts with rhetoric. Even his critics had to admit: this is a speech that cannot be ignored. It presents a moral and political challenge to anyone who considers themselves part of the free world.
From an Israeli perspective, the words carry extra weight. While some Western countries hesitate to take a clear stand against terror, Trump said from the world stage what Israelis have been shouting for years: the problem is not only local, but global.
He attacked countries that allow the promotion of Sharia law within their borders. Without mentioning Israel, Trump linked the fight against terror to a universal battle over the very future of the free world, and for that, Israel salutes him.
Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for the Abraham Accords. Hopefully, when the war ends and all of our hostages are returned, he will indeed receive it.
Trump’s speech at the UN is not just another glittering rhetorical moment that will make headlines one day and disappear the next. It is a speech that shakes the foundations of Western diplomacy, draws red lines, exposes the moral failings of European leaders, and warns of dark alliances threatening to dismantle the world from within.
The message is clear: The age of denial is over, and those who do not wake up now will pay the price in the near future.
The writer is the CEO of Radios 100FM, an honorary consul and deputy dean of the consular diplomatic corps, president of the Israel Radio Communication Association, and formerly an IDF Radio monitor and NBC correspondent.