President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to "totally destroy North Korea" if the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies against the renegade nation's nuclear weapons program, making his case in a combative debut speech to the U.N. that laid out a stark, good-vs-evil view of a globe riven by chaos and turmoil.
United States President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trump's broadsides against "rogue regimes," North Korea chief among them, drew murmurs from the assembled world leaders and served as a searing salute to his nationalism during diplomatic prime time. He said it was "far past time" for the world to confront Kim Jong Un, declaring that the North Korean leader's pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a threat to "the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life."
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President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to "totally destroy North Korea" if the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies against the renegade nation's nuclear weapons program, making his case in a combative debut speech to the U.N. that laid out a stark, good-vs-evil view of a globe riven by chaos and turmoil.
Trump's broadsides against "rogue regimes," North Korea chief among them, drew murmurs from the assembled world leaders and served as a searing salute to his nationalism during diplomatic prime time. He said it was "far past time" for the world to confront Kim Jong Un, declaring that the North Korean leader's pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a threat to "the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life."
Trump's overheated language was rare for a U.S. president at the rostrum of the United Nations, but the speech was textbook Trump, dividing the globe into friends and foes and taking unflinching aim at America's enemies. North Korea's ambassador and another top diplomat left the General Assembly chamber before he spoke to boycott his speech, leaving behind two empty chairs.
His lashing of North Korea was a vigorous restatement of what's been said by U.S. leaders before, but delivered with new intensity in the august setting of the General Assembly. After a litany of accusations — the starvation of millions, the abduction of a Japanese girl and more — he questioned the legitimacy of the communist government by referring to it as a "band of criminals."
Trump's blistering speech came just minutes after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put "nuclear peril" as the gravest threat facing the world and warned that "fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings."
"Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime," Trump said, mocking the North Korean leader even as he sketched out potentially cataclysmic consequences. The president himself decided to work the nickname into his speech just hours before he took the dais, according to aides.
Trump spoke of his own nation's "patience," but said that if "forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trump's overheated language was rare for a U.S. president at the rostrum of the United Nations, but the speech was textbook Trump, dividing the globe into friends and foes and taking unflinching aim at America's enemies. North Korea's ambassador and another top diplomat left the General Assembly chamber before he spoke to boycott his speech, leaving behind two empty chairs.
The president urged nations to work together to stop Iran's nuclear program and defeat "loser terrorists" who wage violence around the globe. He denounced "radical Islamic terrorism," an inflammatory label he had shied away from in recent months after trumpeting it on the campaign trail. He called Syrian President Bashar Assad's government a "criminal regime." He said violence-plagued regions of the world "are going to hell." He made little mention of Russia.
For all of that, he said there was still hope the United Nations could solve "many of these vicious and complex problems."
But he focused more on the problems than the hopes.
United States President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
His lashing of North Korea was a vigorous restatement of what's been said by U.S. leaders before, but delivered with new intensity in the august setting of the General Assembly. After a litany of accusations — the starvation of millions, the abduction of a Japanese girl and more — he questioned the legitimacy of the communist government by referring to it as a "band of criminals."
Trump, who has previously warned of "fire and fury" if Pyongyang does not back down, claimed that "no one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea." And he scolded that it was "an outrage" to enable and trade with North Korea, seeming to point a finger at China, although he did not mention it by name.
Despite the speech's bombast, it signaled little in the way of policy change. Trump stopped short of demanding regime change, which North Korea regards as the ultimate American intention and treats as a reason for its development of nuclear weapons. That may offer some reassurance to China and Russia, which have urged the U.S. to tone down its rhetoric and restart dialogue with North Korea.
Trump, who frequently belittled the U.N. as a candidate, urged the world leaders to embrace their own "national sovereignty to do more to ensure the prosperity and security of their own countries.
"I will always put America first. Just like you, the leaders of your countries, should and always put your countries first," he said. "We can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal in which the United States gets nothing in return."
President Donald Trump speaks to the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump's blistering speech came just minutes after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put "nuclear peril" as the gravest threat facing the world and warned that "fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings."
On Iran, Trump called the government a rogue state whose chief export is "violence, bloodshed and chaos." He accused Tehran of squandering Iran's wealth by supporting Syria's Assad, Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and Yemen's Houthi rebel group.
Trump called the U.N.-backed Iran nuclear deal "an embarrassment" to the United States and suggested it was one of the worst international pacts ever struck. And he hinted that his administration, which has accused Tehran of aiding terrorism in the Middle East, could soon declare Iran out of compliance with the deal, which could unravel it.
"I don't think you've heard the end of it," Trump said. "Believe me."
The administration must decide in mid-October whether it will certify that Iran is still in compliance with the agreement.
He also decried the "disastrous rule" of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and urged the U.N. to step in.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The speech drew varying reactions from leaders on the two sides of Trump's black-and-white ledger. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Trump ally, wrote on Twitter, "In over 30 years in my experience with the UN, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech." Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, wrote that "Trump's ignorant hate speech belongs in medieval times-not the 21st Century UN -unworthy of a reply."
Domestically, reaction largely broke down along party lines: Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Trump used the U.N. "as a stage to threaten war." Onetime Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted that Trump "gave a strong and needed challenge" to the U.N.
Outside of an oblique reference to a threat to Ukraine's sovereignty, Trump made no mention of Russia or its president, Vladimir Putin. He chastised the U.N. for what he said was a bloated budget and bureaucracy but did not reiterate previous threats to cut Washington's commitment to the world body. Instead, pledged the United States would be "partners in your work" to make the organization a more effective force for world peace.
NEW YORK (AP) — Even by Donald Trump's standards, this was a dizzying week.
The first criminal prosecution of a former president began in earnest with opening statements and testimony in a lower Manhattan courtroom. But the action quickly spread to involve more than half a dozen cases in four states and the nation's capital. Twice during the week, lawyers for Trump were simultaneously appearing in different courtrooms.
The collision of so many cases within a five-day span underscores the challenges Trump will face as he campaigns again for the White House while his legal matters intensify. While the presumptive Republican nominee sought to talk about the economy and other issues, his intended message was repeatedly overshadowed by the latest developments popping up across the country.
Here’s how the week broke down and what's ahead:
The week began with a moment for the history books, with prosecutors for the first time presenting a jury with a criminal case against a former American president. In opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that hush money payments made to an adult film actor were “a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election” while Trump’s lawyers argued the case is baseless. Testimony then began with former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker giving the public the most tangible look yet at the allegations.
It also gave the clearest picture yet of Trump’s defense and how he is blending his roles as candidate and criminal defendant. Trump is starting and ending the day appearing before waiting reporters at the courthouse, offering complaints that he is required to be there and commentary on how cold it is in the courtroom or remarks on unrelated national news.
In a separate but nearby courthouse, one of Trump’s lawyers struck a deal with New York state lawyers over a $175 million bond that Trump posted to pause a large civil fraud judgment he’s appealing in a separate case.
Trump returned to court where prosecutors began by urging the judge to hold Trump in contempt for social media posts that they said violated a gag order that bars him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others involved. The judge did not immediately rule on the request but seemed skeptical of defense arguments that Trump was just responding to others’ attacks.
Pecker, a longtime Trump friend, testified the rest of the day and said he pledged to help suppress harmful stories about Trump during the 2016 election.
Trial proceedings were not scheduled for Wednesday so Trump didn't trek to the Manhattan courthouse from his namesake penthouse tower. But he did fire off a post at 2 a.m. on Truth Social, his social media platform, criticizing the judge and did it again later in the day in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Meanwhile, more court documents were unsealed in Florida in another criminal case in which federal prosecutors have charged Trump and two of his employees with mishandling classified documents after he left the White House. Though the case has proceeded at a plodding pace in recent months and seems unlikely to reach trial this year, the documents show, among other things, the warnings that Trump received from associates to return the sensitive files he was later charged with possessing.
Beyond cases in which Trump is charged as a defendant, Arizona’s attorney general on Wednesday indicted 18 of his associates for their roles in an effort to overturn Trump’s loss in that state to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Trump was referred to in the Arizona case as an unindicted co-conspirator.
In a similar case in Michigan, a state investigator testified that he considers Trump to be an uncharged co-conspirator in that state’s case against fake electors.
Trump’s hush money case in New York state court resumed Thursday. But prosecutors began the day by arguing before the judge that Trump had again violated the gag order with social media posts and comments he made early that morning at a dawn campaign stop in the city.
New York state Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has not yet ruled on whether to hold Trump in contempt. Pecker later resumed testimony. Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump aide who was among the 18 charged in Arizona a day earlier, was listening in the courtroom.
At the same time in Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed whether Trump can be prosecuted over his efforts to undo his loss to Biden. The justices in their questions seemed skeptical of Trump’s claims of absolute immunity from prosecution, but a few seemed to signal they had reservations about the charges, and that could result in a delay in that trial beyond November’s election.
In New York federal court on Thursday, a judge rejected Trump’s request for a new trial in a defamation case in which he was ordered to pay $83.3 million to an advice columnist for his social media attacks over her claims that he sexually assaulted her.
The hush money trial continued in New York on Friday, with Pecker wrapping up testimony and Trump’s lawyers seeking to discredit him. Two other witnesses, Trump’s longtime executive assistant Rhona Graff and Gary Farro, a banker for former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Epshteyn again was seated in the courtroom.
The New York hush money case is not expected to resume until Tuesday because of a long-scheduled day off Monday. Testimony is expected to continue Thursday and Friday, giving Trump a chance to make campaign stops in Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the judge has scheduled a morning hearing on prosecutors’ most recent push to punish Trump over the gag order.
And in the Arizona case, details could emerge about the charges against Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Sixteen of the 18 people indicted by a grand jury have been charged with conspiracy, fraud and forgery for their role in submitting a false slate of electors to Congress; the state attorney general has yet to confirm charges against the two remaining defendants. The indictment makes clear, based on their statements and positions, that they are Giuliani and Meadows, but the charges against them are still redacted.
Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
FILE - Mark Meadows speaks with reporters at the White House, Oct. 21, 2020, in Washington. Meadows, chief of staff for former President Donald Trump, was among those indicted Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in an Arizona election interference case. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, Dec. 15, 2023. Guiliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, was among those indicted Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in an Arizona election interference case.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Boris Epshteyn, an aide to former President Donald Trump, returns to the courtroom after a lunch recess during Trump's trial at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)
This image released in the final report by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Dec. 22, 2022, shows a graphic that illustrates the difference between real and fake Presidential Elector Ballots from Arizona. An Arizona grand jury's indictment of 18 people who either posed as or helped organize a slate of electors claiming Donald Trump won the state in 2020 could help shape the landscape of challenges to the 2024 election. (House Select Committee via AP)
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday took up Donald Trump's bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
This artist sketch depicts Michael Dreeben, counselor to Special Counsel Jack Smith, right, as he argues before the Supreme Court during about whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Dana Verkouteren via AP))
Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump waves to the media as he returns from a break during his trial at Manhattan criminal court , Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks with the media at the end of the day's proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court , Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
