Trump Shreds America’s Global Standing

At the United Nations, Trump replaced statesmanship with hate, turning America from trusted leader into global punchline; and leaving the world to move forward without us.

Guest article by Michael Cohen. Follow him on Substack for more by clicking here.

When a president stands at the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, the world is watching. It’s not just another speech; it’s a moment where America defines itself to 193 nations. The words spoken there ripple outward, shaping alliances, trust, and the fragile sense that there’s at least one nation capable of leading with decency.

And then there’s our President; President Trump.

On Tuesday, Trump treated the world to what happens when the teleprompter fails and the id takes over. “I’m happy to be up here nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the heart,” he announced. If what followed was his heart, then America’s heart has been hijacked by hate and anger.

What should have been a statesman’s address turned into a screed of racist attacks, anti-science drivel, and cheap self-promotion. He ranted against immigration, warned Europeans they were “destroying their heritage,” mocked London’s Muslim mayor with lies about sharia law, and declared that green energy was a “con job” invented by “stupid people.” He even used the moment to hawk his campaign hats. That’s not global leadership; it’s a late-night infomercial for bigotry.

And the world saw it.

This is the danger of Trump. His words aren’t just embarrassing; they’re corrosive. They don’t merely reflect his ignorance; they redefine America’s identity. When he mocks immigrants, the message is clear: the United States is closing its doors. When he ridicules science, the message is that truth is negotiable. When he turns the U.N. into a prop for his ego, the message is that American leadership can be bought and sold — merely requiring a CAVA takeout bag filled with cash.

The damage is measurable.

Tourism to the U.S. is plummeting. Airlines are practically giving away tickets to New York. International students and scientists, once the brightest in the world, are choosing Canada, Germany, and Japan over America. Corporate leaders are in panic mode after Trump slapped a $100,000 price tag on H-1B visas, effectively choking off the talent pipeline that fueled Silicon Valley’s rise. And immigration officials, under orders from Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, are now arresting not just criminals but lawful visa holders, tearing apart families and filling government-constructed camps that reek of twentieth-century authoritarianism.

Trump calls it “bold action.” The rest of the world calls it cruelty.

And cruelty, dressed up as policy, has consequences. America has stopped paying its U.N. dues, starving the institution it once carried. We’ve pulled out of the Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and the World Health Organization. We’ve told the planet, in word and deed, that our only loyalty is to ourselves. But isolation is not strength; it’s surrender. Into that vacuum step China and Russia, thrilled to write the rules of a new order while America sulks in the corner, shouting about “I was right about everything” hats.

This isn’t “America First.” It’s America diminished.

I know Trump better than anyone. I spent a decade helping him promote the narrative that he was a master negotiator, a man of vision, a leader. The truth is uglier: he thrives on chaos, mistakes cruelty for power, and confuses applause with respect. But there are no rally crowds at the U.N.; only leaders taking notes. They are adjusting their policies, their alliances, and their expectations around the reality that America under Trump is unreliable, unserious, and unhinged.

And here’s the frightening part: words become reality. When the U.S. president declares that immigrants are poison, borders slam shut. When he calls climate change a hoax, global cooperation stalls. When he sneers that other nations are “going to hell,” trust evaporates. Slowly, the world stops looking to Washington for guidance. They laugh at Trump, yes; but beneath that laughter is resignation: America is no longer leading.

That’s the tragedy. For decades, America’s power wasn’t just in its weapons or its wealth; it was in its credibility. Our word meant something. Our promise mattered. Now, our word is Trump’s word: crude, divisive, and self-serving.

This is more than a loss of reputation. It is the erosion of America’s most valuable asset: its ability to rally the world in moments of crisis. And once that’s gone, once our credibility is squandered, it doesn’t come back easily — if ever.

So when Trump stood before the United Nations and declared, “Your countries are going to hell,” what he really revealed was his own prophecy: it’s America that’s circling the drain. Not because of migrants, not because of wind turbines, but because we’ve allowed a President with a grudge and a microphone to torch decades of credibility in exchange for a punchline.

The world is moving on. They’ll do business without us, forge alliances without us, and write rules without us. And when America finally wakes up from this fever dream, we’ll discover the truth: we weren’t leading anymore; we were the sideshow.

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