Trump’s 'discouraging' UN speech showed lack of leadership: Danish PM
Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has called the speech given by US president Donald Trump at the United Nations general assembly ‘discouraging’.
In the speech on Tuesday, Trump explicitly rejected “the ideology of globalism” at the United Nations, the home of multilateral cooperation, choosing instead to talk up the “doctrine of patriotism”.
Rasmussen, who tried to talk Trump out of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement in 2017, said he was disappointed by the content of the UN speech, which lacked references to the environment and human rights.
“The content (of the speech) was in many ways discouraging for those of use that believe in international cooperation,” Rasmussen said.
“It was all about America’s interests being more important than anything else and that, provided you don’t get in their way, you can do whatever you want,” the PM added.
During the UN address, Trump singled out a number of countries for praise, appearing to express his personal relationships with leaders rather than longstanding US alliances.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was praised, as were Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose roles in the bombing of Yemeni cities and human rights records were not remarked upon.
The only European ally to receive a mention was Poland, whose president, Andrzej Duda, visited Trump at the White House this month and has referred to him in glowing terms.
“As the world’s richest country and the leader of the free world, I think (the United States) should be responsible for looking further than its own borders. But that’s where I saw an absence of leadership,” Rasmussen said.
The Danish PM said he agreed with the sentiment that national leaders should prioritise the interests of their own countries, but maintained international cooperation should be a key basis of that.
“Denmark became the rich country it is today because we have been able to trade with the whole world,” he said.
“But we unfortunately have an American president who does not profess any noticeable value in the international, rule-based structures we have,” he continued.
Rasmussen also said that he had seen cause for optimism while in New York City for the UN general assembly.
“On Monday I participated in a meeting on sustainable energy which was attended by the mayor of New York [Bill de Blasio, ed.],” he said.
“The largest city in the United States is completely dedicated to the sustainability and climate goals, and you can say the same thing about California, whose governor [Jerry Brown, ed.] I recently met.
“So I see many signs that America is being inspired by the Scandinavian model and the values we stand for,” the PM continued.
“But whether that has reached all the way to the White House is another matter,” he added.
READ ALSO: 'Not a new standard for diplomacy': Danish PM on tweet to Trump
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In the speech on Tuesday, Trump explicitly rejected “the ideology of globalism” at the United Nations, the home of multilateral cooperation, choosing instead to talk up the “doctrine of patriotism”.
Rasmussen, who tried to talk Trump out of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement in 2017, said he was disappointed by the content of the UN speech, which lacked references to the environment and human rights.
“The content (of the speech) was in many ways discouraging for those of use that believe in international cooperation,” Rasmussen said.
“It was all about America’s interests being more important than anything else and that, provided you don’t get in their way, you can do whatever you want,” the PM added.
During the UN address, Trump singled out a number of countries for praise, appearing to express his personal relationships with leaders rather than longstanding US alliances.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was praised, as were Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose roles in the bombing of Yemeni cities and human rights records were not remarked upon.
The only European ally to receive a mention was Poland, whose president, Andrzej Duda, visited Trump at the White House this month and has referred to him in glowing terms.
“As the world’s richest country and the leader of the free world, I think (the United States) should be responsible for looking further than its own borders. But that’s where I saw an absence of leadership,” Rasmussen said.
The Danish PM said he agreed with the sentiment that national leaders should prioritise the interests of their own countries, but maintained international cooperation should be a key basis of that.
“Denmark became the rich country it is today because we have been able to trade with the whole world,” he said.
“But we unfortunately have an American president who does not profess any noticeable value in the international, rule-based structures we have,” he continued.
Rasmussen also said that he had seen cause for optimism while in New York City for the UN general assembly.
“On Monday I participated in a meeting on sustainable energy which was attended by the mayor of New York [Bill de Blasio, ed.],” he said.
“The largest city in the United States is completely dedicated to the sustainability and climate goals, and you can say the same thing about California, whose governor [Jerry Brown, ed.] I recently met.
“So I see many signs that America is being inspired by the Scandinavian model and the values we stand for,” the PM continued.
“But whether that has reached all the way to the White House is another matter,” he added.
READ ALSO: 'Not a new standard for diplomacy': Danish PM on tweet to Trump
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