In his debut speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump described to the world leaders his view and stance to world affairs by saying: “We are guided by outcomes, not ideology,” The Wall Street Journal informs.
Trump’s speech marked the return of the American foreign policy to realpolitik: politics or diplomacy based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical premises.
He stated that if the U.S. is forced to defend against North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, “we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Trump described Iran as a nation engaged in the “pursuit of death and destruction.” He also stated that the nuclear accord signed by Obama was “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into” and “an embarrassment.”
Trump also warned that the U.S. is prepared to take further action to change the course of Venezuela’s socialist regime. He then thanked China and Russia for their help in some matters, but he also called them out for their aggressive behavior in their neighborhoods:
“We must reject threats to sovereignty, from the Ukraine to the South China Sea. We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders and respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow.”
The president also made an attempt to define what his “America First” approach to the presidency.
“As president of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first. All responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own citizens, and the nation-state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition,” he stated.
That final line represented a dig at the notion that a global economy, instantaneous worldwide communications and the free flow of goods and people are making traditional national identities obsolete. The Trump message is the opposite: Nations and borders matter no less in the era of globalization.
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