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President Trump's Address to the UN in Real Time
President Trump's Address to the UN in Real Time
25 Sep 2018, 07:40 PM IST 
It appears there's been a schedule change. Ecuador's president being introduced now.
Bill Faries
Podium being adjusted ahead of Trump's arrival.
Bill Faries
At about 4,600 words, Trump's remarks last year were something of a stemwinder -- longer than Obama's (4,065 words) and Clinton's (3,195) in their second appearances before UNGA. We'll see how long he goes this time.
James Gibney
President Trump will be led in, seated and then formally introduced very shortly.
Bill Faries
Temer wraps up. Trump up next.
Bill Faries
Temer taking his valedictory lap now. He may be right that his country is in better shape than when he took over -- that wouldn't be hard -- but Brazil's tensions and problems are in many ways a microcosm of the problems and challenges that Guterres laid out.
James Gibney
Brazilian president Temer seems to be approaching the end of his speech, saying it's his last time as the country's president.
Giulia Camillo
Front row seats this year at the UNGA go to countries including Mexico, Mali and Mauritius -- clearly an alphabetical assignment. Last year, North Korea was right up front for Trump's speech, but their top delegate walked out before the U.S. president spoke.
Bill Faries
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just entered the UNGA chamber, our colleague on the ground David Wainer reports.
Bill Faries
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Andrew Dunn
The White House hasn't provided any advanced excerpts of the president's speech...the generally only happens with the State of the Union.
Bill Faries
Because Brazil is first, they often take a more global outlook than many nations. Though it's a global forum, most leaders use their time at the UN podium to address national issues. Brazil, though, sees itself as having a different role given its starring role.
Bill Faries
Temer is talking a good game on "dialogue and solidarity," but Brazil's polarized politics, with an election marked by the stabbing of a presidential frontrunner, tells a different story.
James Gibney
Brazil's President Michel Temer frets about rising "isolationism, intolerance and unilateralism."
James Gibney
In his opening remarks, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid out a pretty bleak view of the world, and the challenges facing the UN, which he said was suffering from "Trust Deficit Disorder." He also took shots at several pillars of Trump's foreign policy -- on trade, migration and climate change.
James Gibney
Terminal users can watch Trump's address on {LIVE } or by clicking here. The speech is also being streamed live on the UN's website.
Anny Kuo
UN trivia bonus: President Franklin Roosevelt really wanted Brazil to be the sixth permanent member of the Security Council, in part to mollify Latin America. But he was persuaded otherwise by Undersecretary of State Edward Stettinius. We'd be looking at a very different world if that hadn't happened.
James Gibney
UN trivia: Trump is the second head of state speaking at the UN today. By tradition, Brazil goes first, but it would gladly give that plum spot up if it could get a seat on the UN Security Council -- something it has long agitated for.
Bill Faries
And I'll be curious to see how Trump talks about the UN itself. He praised Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at yesterday's global drug event. But as I lay out here, the UN is facing huge challenges, beginning with the withdrawal of U.S. support. Plus, the Security Council is logjammed: in 2017, China, Russia and the U.S. cast the most vetoes since 1989 -- a sign of growing gridlock.
James Gibney
Aggressive and undiplomatic, certainly, but also extremely effective. With nearly 50 days to go before new U.S. oil sanctions against Iran enter into force, Trump has already managed to crush the country’s petroleum exports, dealing severe economic damage to Tehran.
Read more here.
Bill Faries
Trump will beat the Iranians about the head and ears, no doubt. But how will he talk about what Bolton previewed this weekend as "the major theme of the 21st century, which is how China and the United States get along?" I bet he gives China a whack on trade. Since China is moving to play a bigger role in the UN, Trump may also warn about the dangers of China's lopsided economic relations with Africa, Latin America and Asia -- a subject raised by Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin.
James Gibney
Last year Trump banged hard on the sovereignty drum in his UNGA speech, mentioning it 21 times in making the point that he would always put the interests of America first. I expect that Trump will probably echo the attacks on the International Criminal Court that Bolton made in a speech two weeks ago. Good red meat for the base!
James Gibney
One big difference between this year's and last year's address: this one comes before a high-stakes midterm election in which Republicans could lose control of the House of Representatives. That may account for the emphasis that Trump is putting on defending American "sovereignty" -- a theme that National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both emphasized in the run-up to Trump's speech.
James Gibney
As Bill mentioned, the dynamic on North Korea has definitely changed. In less than a year, Kim Jong Un has gone from "Rocket Man on a suicide mission" to what Trump called "a great personality...a very worthy, very smart negotiator."
James Gibney
Meanwhile European allies say they are committed to the Iran deal and the country's leadership says Trump's withdrawal shows his administration can't be trusted. Bottom line: expect some harsh words from the president on Iran in this speech.
Here is our story previewing Trump's speech:
Bill Faries
Iran and North Korea are still the focus of Trump's agenda at the UN this week, but the dynamic has changed. He's met Kim and is seeking a second summit with the North Korean leader. And he's pulled out of the Iran deal, ratcheted up sanctions on the country and has more coming against Iranian oil sales in November.
Bill Faries
Of course, President Trump was the newcomer at this event last year. It was his first real chance to interact with most of the world's leaders and he made an impact: calling North Korea's Kim Jong Un "little rocket man" and threatening to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal reached during the Obama administration.
Bill Faries
Hello, I'm Bill Faries, the team leader for Bloomberg's coverage of U.S. national security and foreign policy, including the UN. This is my seventh time helping cover a UN General Assembly and they all generate unexpected moments. We've got a team of reporters on the ground at the UN and in New York covering all the major world leaders and events this week and this is the start of a very busy day.
Bill Faries
Welcome to our TOPLive blog on President Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations General Assembly. The U.S. president returns to the annual gathering of world leaders this year amid a trade war with China, unprecedented tension with allies Canada and Germany, and a showdown with NATO partner Turkey. A promised Mideast peace deal hasn’t materialized. Relations have improved with North Korea -- the antagonist of Trump’s 2017 speech -- while the Iran nuclear deal is in tatters.
Trump is expected to speak around 10:15 a.m. ET. We'll being our walkup shortly before that and follow through with news and analysis.
Anny Kuo
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