US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, delivered a sweeping assault on the United Nations and multilateralism from the floor of the UN General Assembly in New York, declaring, “There is no global government.” The address placed the United States in direct ideological opposition to the UN's own leadership, which had just made a vigorous case for multilateral cooperation.

Trump vs the UN: The Core Argument

Speaking after UN Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President Philémon Yang had both emphasised the importance of multilateralism and a multipolar global order, Trump took the opposite position. He accused the UN and its affiliated organisations of pursuing what he called a “far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected.” While acknowledging that the UN had “great potential,” he argued that the organisation had strayed far beyond its founding mandate.

Budget Cuts and Institutional Withdrawals

Trump highlighted that the United States had cut the UN budget by 15 per cent in 2026 — what he described as the first such reduction — eliminating more than 4,000 positions from the UN bureaucracy. He also announced that the US had withdrawn from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, criticising it for what he characterised as the “ceaseless promotion of mass migration” that he argued was “actively destroying the greatest cultures and most extraordinary heritage in all of history.”

ICC, IMO, and the Attack on Global Institutions

Trump reserved particularly sharp criticism for the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an indictment against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on allegations of war crimes. Calling the ICC an “anti-American tribunal” that was “out of control,” Trump urged all member nations to withdraw: “I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately.” He also turned on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), accusing it of attempting to impose a “global carbon tax,” which he said the US had blocked. “While I’m president, there will be no global taxes,” he stated.

Immigration and Sovereignty

On migration, Trump drew a sharp line between national sovereignty and what he framed as an illegitimate “human right” to illegal immigration. “There is no human right to illegal immigration, but there is a right to remain a sovereign nation,” he declared. The remarks echo the broader nationalist doctrine his administration has pursued since returning to office, and come as several UN agencies have pushed for binding frameworks on climate, migration, and global health governance.

The Wider Context

The address marks a significant moment of friction between Washington and the multilateral order. Notably, both Guterres and General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman had, moments before Trump spoke, pointed to the shift in global power towards multipolarity as a reason to strengthen, not weaken, international institutions. Trump’s speech represents the starkest American rebuke of the UN system in recent memory, and sets the tone for US engagement — or disengagement — with global governance bodies in the months ahead.