<p>President Trump attended his first UN General Assembly this week, where he delivered a 41-minute speech on topics including North Korea&rsquo;s missile tests, Iran&rsquo;s nuclear ambitions, Venezuela&rsquo;s economic collapse, and the threat of radical Islamic terrorism. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice than to totally destroy North Korea,&rdquo; he told world leaders. &ldquo;The United States is ready, willing, and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That&rsquo;s what the United Nations is all about. That&rsquo;s what the United Nations is for.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Trump urged UN members to work together to isolate Pyongyang until it stops its &ldquo;hostile&rdquo; behavior. North Korea&rsquo;s pursuit of nuclear technology &ldquo;threatens the entire world with unthinkable cost of human life,&#8221; said Trump.</p>
<p>North Korea has been the biggest national-security test of Trump&rsquo;s young presidency. The rogue nation has conducted numerous missile tests in violation of UN resolutions, and more recently, has tested a hydrogen bomb and threatened to attack Guam. ;</p>
<p>Trump knows that an orchestrated effort by the United Nations is the best chance we have to peacefully denuclearize North Korea. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The scourge of our planet today is small regimes that violate every principle [on which] the United Nations is based,&rdquo; said Trump. &ldquo;They respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign rights of their countries. If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph.&rdquo;  ;</p>
<p>In what may have been a veiled jab ;at China, Trump criticized nations that &ldquo;would not only trade with such a regime but would arm, supply, and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Trump also used harsh terms in describing the situation in Venezuela, suggesting that its socialist government had pushed the &ldquo;once-thriving nation to the brink of total collapse.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented,&#8221; he said, promising that the US would not &ldquo;stand by and watch&rdquo; as the country crumbles. ;</p>
<p>Trump ended his speech by calling for a &ldquo;great reawakening of nations.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>He stressed the importance of national sovereignty, but reminded his audience they would have to work ;as a group to solve problems like North Korea. He also reminded his audience that the US wouldn&#8217;t be paying the bill. ;</p>
<p><strong>Reactions</strong></p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was thrilled by the speech, saying he had &ldquo;never heard a bolder or more courageous speech&rdquo; in his 30+ years with the UN. ;</p>
<p>Matt Brooks, director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, praised Trump for highlighting worldwide problems such as the &ldquo;reckless nuclear aspirations of Iran and North Korea&rdquo; and &ldquo;radical Islamic terrorism at home and abroad.&rdquo;  ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The president was strong in his condemnation of Iran as a corrupt dictatorship, economically depleted, a destabilizing force in the Middle East, and a chief exporter of violence and terror,&rdquo; said Brooks. &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s speech was a strong affirmation of American leadership on the world stage, something that has been missing during the last eight years.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The reception will be largely good internationally &ndash; he&rsquo;s not willing to blow up the United Nations,&rdquo; said UN expert Stewart Patrick, referring to comments Trump has made ;about the ineffectiveness of the UN.</p>
<p>Lawmakers had various reactions to the speech. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein was appalled by the suggestion of destroying North Korea. &ldquo;The UN is a venue to promote peace. Today, the president used it as a stage to threaten war,&rdquo; she said, accusing Trump of relying on &ldquo;tactics of intimidation&rdquo; that serve only to &ldquo;further isolate the United States.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Republicans saw the speech exemplary. &ldquo;President Trump&rsquo;s speech to the UN: clear, strong, principled,&rdquo; tweeted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (NE).</p>
<p>President Trump &ldquo;has shown our world tremendous leadership since taking office,&rdquo; tweeted Rep. Todd Rokita (IN).</p>
<p><strong>Author&rsquo;s Note: ;</strong>This is some of Trump&rsquo;s toughest rhetoric yet, and it is designed to call the UN to action. What good is the United Nations if the greatest threat to world peace has to be tackled one country? ;</p>
<p>The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea nine times since 2006. Trump&rsquo;s speech was a reminder that this tactic is not working. Unless the UN gets off its collective ass to do something, the United States will have to deal with North Korea on its own.</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> The bureaucrats at the U.N. are used to using political rhetoric to discourage action. Trump needed to get through to these piles of sludge that he WILL take action if no other option presents itself. It was blunt, it was straightforward, there can be no misunderstanding about Trump&#8217;s intentions.</p>
<p> ;</p>
<p> ;</p>