At UN, more evidence that Trump is losing the world

Trump set out patriotism as incompatible with globalism, neglecting the reality that many of the challenges confronting the United States this century, including terrorism and nuclear proliferation, will require collective action. 

• Consistent with this oversight, he did not even mention climate change.
• He also rejected global governance, even though it will be essential to establishing rules for cyberspace conduct, which the United States would benefit from.

The principal exception to the dark tone of the speech concerned North Korea’s Kim Jung-un. The president continued to praise him and extoll what their diplomacy has accomplished despite evidence to the contrary. 

The bottom line: At one point during his speech, Trump boasted that “in less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” a statement that met with laughter. It was more evidence that he has lost his international audience — not just in the UN Assembly Hall today, but around the world.

Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “A World in Disarray.”