President Trump at the United Nations

On September 24 (2019) President Trump, in a speech before the United Nations, did his country and the American people proud. However, you would not have known this if the mainstream media were your only source for news. Their reporting on this subject was scarce and scantily mentioned. Most of the usual suspects were averse to the content of his speech.

Say what you will about this president, even with all his idiosyncrasies and sometimes questionable behavior, which can cause even his most ardent supporters to wince, he has in his presidency made a number of exceptional speeches; and this was another. There were a number of issues that were covered, including religious freedom, nationalism, globalism, free speech, and Iran.

Upon his arrival at the UN, the president met with the leaders of Pakistan, Poland, New Zealand, Singapore, Egypt, and South Korea. Many issues that have been the cause of much tension throughout the world were discussed, including Ukraine, the U.S. trade war with China, a weakening global economy, and North Korea.  
Religious Freedom was a major issue as his words proved. “Protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities.” The president emphasized that “80% of the world’s population lives in countries where religious freedom is threatened, restricted, and even banned.” And that the right to religious freedom “was also an urgent moral duty.” The Trump administration has made this issue a priority by hosting annual meetings, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing earlier this year that he would create an international alliance dedicated to religious freedom.

Of course, Mr. Trump’s detractors criticized what they considered hypocrisy for his approach toward religious minorities seeking refuge in the United States. This was a false premise and has nothing to do with the religious freedom of immigrants, only their entrance into the United States and what their status is.

It was clear that the main theme of the speech was America First. Mr. Trump was highly critical of globalism when he commented, “The future does not belong to globalists; the future belongs to patriots. The future belongs to sovereign and independent nations who protect their citizens, respect their neighbors, and honor the differences that make each country special and unique.”

Mr. Trump’s harshest rebuke was directed at Iran, especially after the attack on the Saudi oil refinery, referring to them as “One of the greatest security threats facing peace-loving nations. He went on to say, “All nations have a duty to act. No responsible government should subsidize Iran’s bloodlust.” And “As long as Iran’s menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted, they will be tightened.”

In keeping with the administration's pro-life stance, the United States presented a joint statement that in its opinion there was no “international right” to abortion. Alex Azar, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services while at the U.N. spoke for the administration and 18 other nations, with this statement on universal health care coverage. “We do not support references to ambiguous terms and expressions, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights in U.N. documents, because they undermine the critical role of the family and promote practices, like abortion.”

It should have been clear to all involved parties what direction this administration was going on the issue of abortion when one of its first actions in 2017 was a presidential executive order reinstating the “Mexico City Policy” that banned any U.S. tax dollars funding abortions in other countries.

I believe President Trump has proven his nationalism and love of country. His detractors, however, will say, he is allowing his nationalistic pride to disregard global unity and its commitments. But that is a falsehood, and can best be summed up by this quote from Samuel Adams, a leader of the American Revolution. “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards, and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”