Trump at UN Pushes ‘Peace Through Strength’ and To Hold China ‘Accountable’ for COVID-19
Sept. 22, 2020 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump’s address to the UN General Assembly today, pre-taped as are all speeches, had the theme, in his words, of “peace through strength.” In his short presentation, he gave particulars of what he praised as U.S. peace achievements, and of U.S. incomparable economic and military might. Referring to past “blood in the sand,” he said that, “hopefully, these days are over.” His additional theme was to hold China accountable for the “China virus” and for other infractions which he listed.
Trump closed by reiterating his theme from his last address to the UN, that his responsibility is to take care of America first, and that “you should be putting your countries first” as well.
Trump began his address by referencing that the UN was founded 75 years ago at the end of World War II, and that “we are once again engaged in a great global struggle,” fighting the “China virus.” He then recounted the U.S. response to COVID-19, which he called the “most aggressive mobilization since the Second World War.” He reported on U.S. successes in treatments, which have reduced mortality by 85% since April, and in vaccine development.
“As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China,” he said. Trump then gave his list of wrongdoings on COVID-19 by China, and also the World Health Organization, and concluded that, “The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions.”
He proceeded,
“In addition, every year China dumps millions and millions of tons of plastic and trash into the oceans, overfishes other countries’ waters, destroys vast swaths of coral reef, and emits more toxic mercury into the atmosphere than any country anywhere in the world. China’s carbon emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has, and it’s rising fast.”
Further, on the matter of emissions, Trump said that the U.S., though leaving the Paris Accord, led the world last year in reducing emissions. He chastised, “Those who attack America’s exceptional environmental record while ignoring China’s rampant pollution are not interested in the environment.”
He called on the UN, to “focus on the real problems of the world. This includes terrorism, the oppression of women, forced labor, drug trafficking, human and sex trafficking, religious persecution, and the ethnic cleansing of religious minorities.”
Trump then reviewed U.S. achievements in peace deals, after saying that “American prosperity is the bedrock of freedom and security all over the world.” Specifically,
“In three short years, we built the greatest economy in history—and we are quickly doing it again. Our military has increased substantially in size. We spent $2.5 trillion over the last four years on our military. We have the most powerful military anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close. We stood up to decades of China’s trade abuses.”
The diplomatic successes included: revitalizing NATO, various partnerships in the Americas, withdrawing from the “terrible Iran Nuclear Deal,” and imposing “crippling sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terror; obliterating the ISIS caliphate, and killing Al-Baghdadi and Qassem Soleimani; making a peace deal between Serbia and Kosovo.” He described the “landmark breakthrough with two peace deals in the Middle East.” He said, “As we speak, the United States is also working to end the war in Afghanistan—and we are bringing our troops home.”
His concluding remarks began,
“America is fulfilling our destiny as peacemaker. But it is peace through strength. We are stronger now than ever before, our weapons are at an advanced level like we’ve never had before, like frankly we’ve never even thought of having before, and I only pray to God that we never have to use them. For decades, the same tired voices proposed the same failed solutions, pursuing global ambitions at the expense of their own people. But only when you take care of your own citizens, will you find a true basis for cooperation. As President, I have rejected the failed approaches of the past—and I am proudly putting America first, just as you should be putting your countries first. That’s okay—that’s what you should be doing.
“I am supremely confident that next year, when we gather in person, we will be in the midst of one of the greatest years in our history—and frankly, hopefully, in the history of the world.”
Trump’s theme of peace was struck in the extended, triumphalist introductory speech by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, with references to the Abraham Accords, Serbia and Kosovo, and North Korea. She said that President Trump “brings together former adversaries.”
