Windmills, wars and marble floors: 10 topics Trump hit in meandering UN speech

Driving the news: During his nearly hour-long speech, he framed immigration and "green renewable energy" as destroyers of much of the free world.

• Speaking on foreign policy, he called for an end to the war in Ukraine — a campaign pledge he said he thought would be easy because of his relationship with Putin — and a ceasefire in Gaza. Trump also warned of the dangers of Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.
• Windmills, cows, domestic crime, real estate, London's Mayor Sadiq Khan and former President Joe Biden seemed to also be on the president's mind, as he went off-script and well over his allotted time.
• A through-line that's appeared in other administration addresses to international leaders was evident: Trump thinks much of the world must shape up, and follow his lead.

Here are ten things Trump discussed in his address to the UN General Assembly:

1. Shout-out to El Salvador for jailing migrants

Trump applauded El Salvador, where the Trump administration has funneled deported Venezuelan migrants, for "the successful and professional job they've done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country."

• The president has floated jailing U.S. citizens in the country, home to the notorious CECOT prison. Criminal justice advocates say doing so would violate the Constitution's Eighth Amendment barring "cruel and unusual" punishments.

• Applauding plummeting border crossings, Trump declared that his administration had "repelled a colossal invasion" and slammed the "ridiculous open border policy of the Biden administration."

He issued a warning: "If you come illegally into the United States, you're going to jail, or you're going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that — you know what that means."

2. The UN "wasn't there for us"

Trump, touting his role in ending "seven wars," said that the UN "wasn't there for us" during his negotiation efforts.

• Trump's administration has scored several diplomatic breakthroughs. But his role in some of the deals and the possibility of lasting peace have been disputed.
• "It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them, and sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them," Trump said.

Rather, he said he got "two things ... from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter."

3. "Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize"

Trump, who has long lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize, said that "everyone says" he should receive one.

• But in a June Truth Social post, he wrote, "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do."
• Trump, after bringing up the prize, told the audience of world leaders and diplomats he cares about "saving lives," not "winning prizes."

4. Bemoans UN renovation and "terrazzo floors"

Recalling his fruitless bid to re-do the UN building in the early 2000s, Trump lamented the terrazzo floors developers went with, saying he would've gone with marble.

• "Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex," he said.
• At the time, he testified before Congress on the project, which he said he could've done for a cheaper price tag. On Tuesday, he said, "they still haven't finished the job."

5. Calls London's mayor "terrible"

Trump claimed that London, under Mayor Sadiq Khan, wanted to "go to sharia law."

• Claiming Europe is in "serious trouble" because of illegal immigration, Trump pointed to London, where he said "you have a terrible mayor, terrible terrible mayor, and it's been so changed."
• A spokesperson for Khan, who is Muslim, said in a statement provided to Axios, "We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response" and called London the "greatest city in the world."

6. "Your countries are going to hell"

Trump declared it was "time to end the failed experiment of open borders," telling his international audience, "Your countries are going to hell."

• Later in his speech, he said Europe was being "devastated" by the "double-tailed monster" of green energy policies and immigration.
• "You're doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct — and you're destroying your heritage," he said.

7. Windmills are "pathetic"

The president loathes windmills — and that was on full display Tuesday.

• Saying the U.S. was ditching "falsely named renewables," Trump called windmills "so pathetic and so bad."
• In the first half of the year, U.S. investment in renewables plunged amid a shakeup in federal support.
• Trump later lamented the "windmills and massive solar panels" he said are "ruining the beautiful Scottish and English countryside."

8. Climate change is a "con job"

Trump, whose climate change denialism has led to sweeping research cancellations, labeled the phenomenon the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world."

• He said "stupid people" had made predictions about the effects of global warming, called the concept of a carbon footprint "nonsense" and slammed the Paris Climate Agreement as "fake."
• "I remember hearing about the carbon footprint, and then President Obama would get into Air Force One, a massive Boeing 747," he said.

Zoom out: "We have the cleanest air we've had in many, many years," Trump said.

• Federal data shows that energy-related CO2 emissions per capita fell in every U.S. state from 2005 to 2023 — but as Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick notes, Trump's pro-coal, anti-wind-and-solar attitude could hinder that progress.

9. Climate activists want to kill cows

During his lengthy rebuke of green energy, Trump said "radicalized environmentalists" in the U.S. want "factories to stop" and for there to be "no more cows."

• He continued, "I guess they want to kill all the cows."
• This is not the first time Trump has accused environmentalists of wanting to slaughter cows.

10. "I've been right about everything"

Trump warned countries Tuesday that they would "fail" if they don't abandon the "green scam," saying he's "good at predicting things."

• He pointed to a variation of his signature MAGA hat that reads, "Trump was right about everything."
• "And I don't say that in a braggadocios way, but it's true," Trump said. "I've been right about everything."

He added, "If you don't stop people that you've never seen before that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail."

Go deeper: Trump's middle finger to the UN: "Your countries are going to hell"