Comedian-in-chief: Donald Trump's UN speech - Leader of the free world, or leader of the memes?

TL;DR: Driving the news
At the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump delivered what might have once been called a defining foreign policy address. But this time, the red light blinked on, and stayed on, while the president meandered from escalator complaints to accusations that environmentalists “want to kill all the cows.” Delegates chuckled. Some squirmed. But few listened with intent. And fewer still reacted as though the most powerful man in the world had just spoken.

As the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reported, Trump’s speech - a 58-minute ramble through open borders, “sharia law,” the “climate hoax,” and the usual potshots at international institutions - felt like a caricature of everything the UN was built to prevent. The president called the UN “a failure,” then complained that its escalator had stopped mid-ascent. “If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen,” he added. The delegates, many of whom had already stopped taking notes, looked on - not with fear or fury, but with something closer to pity.

Why it matters

• America First is becoming America Alone: For decades, the United States anchored the international system by projecting both hard power and credibility. Under Trump, that anchor is slipping. His rejection of climate agreements, disdain for Nato, and casual dismissal of the UN have left allies questioning whether the US is still a reliable partner.
• The credibility gap: Foreign leaders aren’t just reacting to Trump’s words; they are recalculating their national strategies around the possibility that US commitments could vanish overnight. As The Atlantic’s Vivek Viswanathan wrote, when countries “learn their lesson” that America won’t keep its word, they start hedging—drawing closer to powers like China or Russia, or forming regional pacts that exclude Washington.
• A fragile moment: This loss of trust is happening at a dangerous time. Ukraine is under siege, Gaza is burning, and climate change is accelerating. These are problems that no single nation can solve alone. The US turning inward-or worse, openly mocking multilateralism—creates power vacuums that authoritarians are eager to fill.
• Global double standards: The fallout is not limited to diplomacy. As Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez warned, Europe’s credibility is eroding because its outrage at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hasn’t been matched by similar condemnation of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Trump’s attacks amplify this cynicism, giving China, Russia, and others an opening to portray themselves as defenders of a “fairer” order.
• The danger of normalization: Perhaps most troubling, Trump’s erratic style-once seen as shocking-has become something allies now plan around. As one European diplomat put it privately, the challenge is “not if Trump will break the rules, but how badly.” That normalization chips away at the idea that the US president is still the “leader of the free world.”
• The leader who isn’t leading: Once upon a time, even during not so popular presidents- say, during the Bush years - US presidents were treated as consequential global actors. They could start wars, reshape alliances, and disrupt global markets with a few words. What made them serious was not their intellect or eloquence, but the machinery of US power that stood behind them.
• Trump still commands that machinery. But as the Atlantic’s Tom Nichols put it bluntly: “The president of the United States is not worthy of [world leaders’] respect.” In Beijing, as Xi Jinping hosted Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a high-profile military parade, Trump fumed on Truth Social, sarcastically sending “warmest regards” to the trio “as you conspire against The United States of America.”
• If that sounds more like a Reddit poster than a president, it’s because that’s increasingly how Trump is seen abroad: not as a strategic threat or cunning disruptor, but as a chaotic element - erratic, unserious, and profoundly self-absorbed.

No one follows
The New York Times recently noted that Trump’s hardline protectionism - 50% tariffs on Indian exports - has failed to inspire imitation. Instead of retaliating, other countries are making new trade agreements with each other, excluding the US entirely.

India, once touted as the cornerstone of a US-led Indo-Pacific strategy, is drifting. After Trump sanctioned Indian oil refineries for buying from Russia - while sparing China for doing the same - Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to China in seven years, where he joined hands with Xi and Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation summit.

Xi called it “time for the dragon and elephant to dance together.” Trump, on cue, posted that “we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” It read less like realpolitik and more like a spurned business partner watching a former client walk away.

America, the risk factor
Trump’s defenders argue that his unpredictability is a feature, not a bug - a negotiating tactic that keeps allies and adversaries on their toes. But unpredictability only works if people believe you're serious. Increasingly, they don’t.

“There is no coherent US foreign policy,” wrote Vivek Viswanathan in The Atlantic. “And no country’s leadership is under any illusion about what a deal with Trump is worth.” Even agreements Trump himself championed - from trade deals to defense pacts - have been reversed, undermined, or abandoned.

The result is a diplomatic paradox. Trump is listened to, but not believed. Increasingly, the world leaders are treating his threats the way one might regard a dangerously unpredictable neighbor: warily, with contingency plans, and minimal engagement.

As Bloomberg reported, many of the leaders now flocking to Xi’s orbit - not out of ideological sympathy, but pragmatism - are simply trying to build some buffer against American volatility. Even countries like Vietnam and Egypt, long close to Washington, are hedging.

What’s next

• A world of coalitions-without the US.
• From the BRICS expansion to China’s growing diplomatic influence, new regional blocs are emerging—some in reaction to Trump’s unpredictability. India, long courted by Washington, is drifting toward “strategic polyamory,” hedging between Beijing, Moscow, and Washington.
• “If the United States doesn’t want to buy, we will find new partners,” Brazil’s President Lula said. “The world is big, and it’s eager to do business with Brazil.”
• Europe and the Global South are taking the lead.
• New initiatives like “In Defence of Democracy,” co-led by Spain, Chile, and Brazil, are aimed at reinforcing multilateralism, digital rights, and anti-extremism. But as The Guardian noted, these efforts are still “ill-coordinated” and lack the heft of US leadership.
• Foreign ministries are planning for multiple outcomes: cooperation if necessary, circumvention if possible. Trump’s reputation for unpredictability—on Nato, trade, climate, and war—means nations are diluting their reliance on Washington.

(With inputs from agencies)