Trump won't go to New York for U.N. speech
The United Nations General Assembly typically draws world leaders and philanthropists from all around the globe, packing New York City with their entourages. At the 75th edition of the annual event, however, there won't be a single one.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows ended the “Will he? Won’t he?” intrigue surrounding President Donald Trump’s possible in-person appearance at the U.N., telling reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday night that the president will not go to New York next week to give his speech to the assembly.
That confirms a State Department email, seen by POLITICO, labeled a “final update” regarding UNGA, that states neither President Trump nor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would travel to New York. “Dignitary Protection does not have any planned protection details planned for UNGA 75,” the email said, further noting the Department of Homeland Security has canceled this year’s designation of UNGA as a National Special Security Event.
“In the event that we have a detail pop up it will be managed as we normally do for visits to NYC throughout the year,” the email said.
U.N. Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric also said Thursday that the organization was not expecting any head of state or government to visit New York this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but stressed that the final decision remained with the White House.
Trump was the last national leader who was considering attending the annual gathering in person, having first signaled his interest in delivering his General Assembly speech in person as far back as July.
“This is the 75th anniversary (of the U.N.), so it makes it even more special,” Kelly Craft, America’s U.N. ambassador, said on July 30, suggesting the fanfare fed the president’s desire to appear live.
All other world leaders have already announced they would participate in the U.N. General Assembly virtually this year, rather than comply with New York’s 14-day self-isolation period for visitors from most parts of the country and world. “It made it impossible for any leader to come,” said U.N. General Assembly President Volkan Bozkır.
The White House — unlike many other administrations — has not yet submitted a pre-recorded speech for the Assembly. The U.N. has asked that countries submit those videos by Friday.
Trump's virtual remarks will eliminate some of the drama of a live speech, particularly given a seating plan that's placed Iran’s delegate directly in front of the speaking podium. Due to coronavirus restrictions, just one New York-based representatives from each country will be allowed in the hall for the speeches, instead of its normal six-person delegation.
The Trump administration is still likely to spark tension, however, with its demand that the U.N. reinstate sanctions on Iran that were in place prior to the 2015 nuclear deal reached signed by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and other members of the U.N. National Security Council. Trump has threatened to try and trigger what’s known as a “snapback” provision within that nuclear deal, despite having withdrawn the U.S. from it in 2018.
“It’s going to be a nasty weekend,” said one European ambassador, who requested anonymity.
Richard Gowan, U.N. Director at the International Crisis Group, told POLITICO that if Trump delivers his remarks are via pre-recorded video, they could carry more weight, especially if the president threatens to cut funds to the U.N. the same way he pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N.’s health arm, earlier this year.
“If it's live, people may treat it as an off-the-cuff thing, and not take it that seriously. If he says it on video from a script, it's a lot harder to walk back or ignore,” Gowan said.
European Union diplomats also said they’ll be watching to see if the speech reflects a typical text that has been worked on by multiple government agencies, or if it amounts to an extension of the president's Twitter threads.
Diplomats are even more reticent than usual when asked about their expectations for Trump next week — a sign of how nervous they are that the U.S. president will ruin what’s left of a long-planned U.N. 75th anniversary commemoration.
The centerpiece of those commemorations is a declaration negotiated over several months, “to be adopted, hopefully consensually, on Monday,” said Olof Skoog, the EU’s ambassador to the U.N.
Some foreign diplomats fear the U.S. may prevent consensus adoption of the resolution, after already objecting in June to earlier draft language around the Paris climate deal and a “shared vision for common future.”
The celebrations are already clouded by the Trump administration’s broadsides on U.N. bodies such as the WHO and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the patchy global response to the coronavirus pandemic; and an ongoing failure of U.N. member countries to stay on track with the body’s Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement.
On Monday, world leaders will deliver speeches marking the U.N.’s successes and failures. The U.S., as host, is set to deliver the first speech. That’s a move European diplomats consider to be an own goal: letting the United Nations’ most powerful critic set the tone for a landmark anniversary. “The U.N. is great for inflicting upon itself these unwritten rules that make no sense under the current circumstances,” said one European ambassador.
Gowan said that Trump’s real audience is not other governments, but domestic and social media. “He is good at firing off well-prepared zingers like ‘little rocket man’ in 2017, that seem out-of-place at the U.N. but are made for TV and Twitter. So the big question is not how this looks in New York but how it will look on Fox,” he said.
Nahal Toosi and Meridith McGraw contributed reporting
