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OFFERING PRAISE, TRUMP REFERENCED THE INSCRIPTION ON A MAGA BASEBALL CAP. "I'VE BEEN RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING," NBC'S VAUGHN HILLYARD IS AT THE UN. NED PRICE IS A FORMER SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT AND CIA OFFICIAL, AND JONATHAN CAPEHART IS CO-HOST OF MSNBC'S THE WEEKEND. SO, NED, LOOK, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES STOOD UP IN FRONT OF WORLD LEADERS AND SAID, "THE US IS BASICALLY POINTLESS." CRITICISM OF THE UN IS NOT NEW. LET'S SAY THAT, BUT HELP US WRAP OUR MINDS AROUND THE WAY HE SAID IT AND WHERE HE SAID IT.
>> NO, YOU'RE RIGHT CHRIS. CRITICISM OF THE UN IS NOT NEW. IT'S ALSO, BY THE WAY, NOT UNWARRANTED IN SOME RESPECTS. BUT WHAT WE SAW TODAY, LET'S NOT PRETEND IT WAS A FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH OR DIGNIFY IT BY CALLING IT ONE. THIS WAS, I THINK, BEST DESCRIBED AS MAGA MAD LIBS. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS TRUMP WAS BASICALLY SPEAKING TO HIS POLITICAL BASE. HE WAS HITTING EACH AND JUST ABOUT EVERY ONE OF HIS FAVORITE TOPICS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. HE WAS SPEAKING TO A DOMESTIC POLITICAL AUDIENCE, EVEN THOUGH, IF IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE, HE WAS ADDRESSING THE WORLD LEADERS BEFORE HIM, MOST OF WHOM PROBABLY WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO BE JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE ELSE. YOU KNOW, IMAGINE HOW THE DELEGATE FROM EAST TIMOR OR CHAD OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY WOULD IMAGINE WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN THINKING AS THE PRESIDENT WAS GOING ON ON HIS GREATEST HITS. GROCERY PRICES, STOCK MARKET HIGHS, AS HE SAID, THE SOUTHERN BORDER, EVEN THE CRIME LEVELS IN DC. YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THE PRESIDENT DOES JUST ABOUT IS IN SOME WAYS DOMESTIC PARTISAN COMBAT, EVEN IF IT'S SOMETIMES CLOAKED IN THE GUISE OF SOMETHING ELSE. AND TODAY, WE JUST HAPPENED TO HEAR A CAMPAIGN SPEECH THAT COULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN IN 2020 OR 2024 THAT WAS GIVEN IN TURTLE BAY IN FRONT OF WORLD LEADERS.
>> YEAH, I THINK QUESTIONING WHY THE UN EVEN EXISTS ON BROUGHT ON SOME TARGETED WORDS FOR PARTICULAR COUNTRIES AS WELL. ON THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION, WHICH IS ONE OF HIS FAVORITE TOPICS. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT PART.
>> RIGHT, CHRIS. AND THIS COMES AT A TIME IN WHICH, OF COURSE, THE US UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS SHUTTERED USAID, CUT HUMANITARIAN INTERNATIONAL AID, AND HAS CUT FUNDING BY MORE THAN $500 MILLION TO THE UNITED NATIONS. AND THE PRESIDENT, WHILE HE TOUTED DOMESTICALLY THE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN UNDERWAY INSIDE OF THE US AS MAINLAND BORDERS, HE ALSO TOUTED THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE EFFECTIVELY BEEN ABLE TO CUT THE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES. HE PUT HIS ATTENTION ON THE CALL FOR NATIVISM, NOT JUST IN THE US, BUT FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO DO MORE TO STOP THE SURGE OF MIGRATION INTO THEIR OWN BORDERS, SUGGESTING THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE CASE OF AMERICA, AMERICA BELONGS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. AND HE SAYS, WITH MIGRATION COMES DIFFERENT CUSTOMS, RELIGIONS AND EVERYTHING, AND THEY SHOULD BE SENT HOME IMMEDIATELY. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE TO SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS, AND ALLOWING MIGRANTS TO LEAVE THEIR HOME COUNTRIES AND GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES SHOULDN'T BE THOSE OTHER COUNTRIES PROBLEMS. HE SAID, "QUOTE, I'M REALLY GOOD AT THIS STUFF," REFERRING TO HIS HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION IN THE URGING OF OTHER COUNTRIES TO TAKE THIS ON. IN THE CASE OF LONDON, WHERE HE WAS JUST LAST WEEK, HE CALLED THEIR MAYOR "TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE" FOR HIS IMMIGRATION POLICIES. HE SAID THAT GERMANY HAD BEEN ON A PATH. I WANT TO LET YOU LISTEN TO JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF HIS REMARKS ON THIS. TAKE A LISTEN.
>> IT'S TIME TO END THE FAILED EXPERIMENT OF OPEN BORDERS. YOU HAVE TO END IT NOW. I CAN TELL YOU I'M REALLY GOOD AT THIS STUFF. YOUR COUNTRIES ARE GOING TO HELL. IN ASIA, THEY DUMP MUCH OF THEIR GARBAGE RIGHT INTO THE OCEAN. AND OVER ABOUT A ONE WEEK AND TWO WEEK JOURNEY. IT FLOWS RIGHT PAST LOS ANGELES. YOU'VE SEEN IT. MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF GARBAGE.
>> IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO, RIGHT BEFORE THE PRESIDENT HEADED IN FOR A BEHIND CLOSED DOOR MEETING WITH THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL, HE POSTED ON HIS TRUTH SOCIAL ACCOUNT, SAYING, "QUOTE, I BELIEVE THE SPEECH WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED. IT FOCUSED VERY MUCH ON ENERGY AND MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION. I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, AND THIS FORUM WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MAKING THESE TWO IMPORTANT STATEMENTS. I HOPE EVERYBODY GETS TO WATCH. THE TELEPROMPTER WAS BROKEN IN THE ESCALATOR, CAME TO A SUDDEN HALT AS WE WERE RIDING UP TO THE PODIUM. BUT BOTH OF THOSE EVENTS PROBABLY MADE THE SPEECH MORE INTERESTING THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN OTHERWISE." THE PRESIDENT WILL ALSO BE MEETING WITH THE HEADS OF THE EU, AS WELL AS A SEPARATE MEETING WITH ARGENTINEAN PRESIDENT, AS WELL AS A ONE ON ONE BILATERAL MEETING WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKY OF UKRAINE. CHRIS.
>> I THINK HE MIGHT HAVE JUST DISSED HIS SPEECHWRITERS, BUT THAT'S PROBABLY THE LEAST OF IT. JONATHAN, THERE WERE ALSO MULTIPLE INSTANCES WHERE THE PRESIDENT WENT OFF ON TANGENTS, AND THOSE TANGENTS INVOLVED GRIEVANCES THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FOREIGN POLICY. TAKE A LISTEN.
>> ALL I GOT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS WAS AN ESCALATOR THAT, ON THE WAY UP, STOPPED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. IF THE FIRST LADY WASN'T IN GREAT SHAPE, SHE WOULD HAVE FALLEN. BUT SHE'S IN GREAT SHAPE. WE'RE BOTH IN GOOD SHAPE. WE BOTH STOOD. AND THEN A TELEPROMPTER. THAT DIDN'T WORK. THIS IS. THESE ARE THE TWO THINGS I GOT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS. A BAD ESCALATOR AND A BAD TELEPROMPTER.
>> WE HAVE THAT ACTUAL VIDEO. THIS IS THE MOMENT. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE IT, JONATHAN. WHEN THEY GOT ON THE ESCALATOR AND IT STOPPED, AND THEN THEY TURN AND LOOK UP.
>> PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHY DID YOU.
>> I GUESS, PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT FOR US? HOW OFTEN TRUMP SEEMS TO FIND GRIEVANCE WHEREVER AND WHATEVER HAPPENS?
>> CHRIS, IT'S PART OF HIS DNA. HE, HE HE'S LIKE THAT FRIEND YOU GO TO DINNER WITH. AND THEY ALWAYS FIND FAULT WITH SOMETHING WITH EITHER THE MENU, THE TABLE, THE CHAIRS, THE WAITSTAFF, THE LIGHTING, WHATEVER. WHAT'S SO EMBARRASSING ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH BEFORE THE UN TODAY IS THAT THAT WAS THE PLACE WHERE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, IN EITHER PARTY, WOULD USE THAT PLATFORM AS A WAY OF SETTING THE TABLE, SETTING THE AGENDA FOR THE GLOBE. WE ARE THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. THIS IS THE WAY WE SEE THINGS. THESE ARE OUR VALUES. THIS IS WHAT THE PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE SOLVED. AND HERE'S HOW AMERICA IS GOING TO GO ABOUT TRYING TO SOLVE THEM WITH THE HELP OF EVERYONE IN THAT ROOM WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE HAVE GOTTEN FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP EVERY TIME HE HAS GONE TO THAT ICONIC PODIUM IS A PERSON WHO BRINGS HIS DOMESTIC CAMPAIGN SPEECH AND GIVES IT TO THE WORLD. THE WORLD DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS GRIEVANCES. PICAYUNE GRIEVANCES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU REMEMBER DURING HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT, PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT HOW HIS CAMPAIGN AND THE WAY HE WENT ABOUT IT AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVED HIM FOR IT. IT WAS LIKE THEY WERE GIVING A BIG MIDDLE FINGER TO THE ESTABLISHMENT. AND WHAT WE SAW TODAY WITH THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH AT THE UN WAS HIM ONCE AGAIN GIVING A BIG MIDDLE FINGER TO THE GLOBAL ORDER, A GLOBAL ORDER THE UNITED STATES HELPED CREATE AND BOLSTERED AND PROTECTED FOR THE PAST 80 YEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, I AM NOT SURPRISED THE PRESIDENT DID WHAT HE DID. WHAT I AM SURPRISED BY IS THAT THE NATIONS, THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD, STILL SHOW UP TO LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. AND I WONDER NOW IF THEY SHOW UP BECAUSE IT'S THE SORT OF THE GLOBAL EQUIVALENT OF GOING TO A STAND UP COMEDY SHOW.
>> WELL, NED, THERE WERE MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHEN DONALD TRUMP TOOK CREDIT. HE WASN'T GRIEVANCES. HE TOOK CREDIT FOR THINGS, THOUGH, THAT HE ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH. I'M TALKING, FOR EXAMPLE, ABOUT CLEAN AIR. IN FACT, CLEAN AIR IS DUE TO THE VERY REGULATIONS THAT HE HAS TRIED TO GUT. BUT LET ME PLAY A COUPLE OF INSTANCES OF WHAT HE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HIS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY.
>> IF WE HAD THE MOST CLEAN AIR, AND I THINK WE DO, WE HAVE VERY CLEAN AIR. WE HAVE THE CLEANEST AIR WE'VE HAD IN MANY, MANY YEARS. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA, WHICH HAS AIR THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ROUGH. IT BLOWS. AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE DOING DOWN HERE, THE AIR UP HERE TENDS TO GET VERY DIRTY BECAUSE IT COMES IN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THEIR AIR ISN'T SO CLEAN. AND THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S THE GREATEST CON JOB EVER PERPETRATED ON THE WORLD, IN MY OPINION. CLIMATE CHANGE, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, YOU'RE INVOLVED IN THAT. NO MORE GLOBAL WARMING, NO MORE GLOBAL COOLING. ALL OF THESE PREDICTIONS MADE BY THE UNITED NATIONS AND MANY OTHERS, OFTEN FOR BAD REASONS, WERE ALL.
>> GLOBAL WARMING, HE SAID. NONE. NED WAS THE GREATEST CON JOB EVER BY STUPID PEOPLE. IT'S CLIMATE WEEK. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE GATHERED IN NEW YORK CITY AS WELL TO TALK ABOUT THESE ISSUES. HOW DO YOU THINK THIS IS BEING RECEIVED? DOES IT ROLL OFF THEIR SHOULDERS? THEY'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE FROM DONALD TRUMP. OR DOES IT SET ABOUT A SERIES OF MEETINGS LIKE, WHAT DO YOU DO TO MOVE THIS FORWARD WHEN CLEARLY THE UNITED STATES IS NOT PART OF THIS EQUATION?
>> YEAH. YOU KNOW, CHRIS, LISTENING TO THOSE EXCERPTS, THERE WAS SOME REAL POETRY IN THAT SPEECH. I'M NOT SURE IT WAS INTENTIONAL BY ANY MEANS. LOOK, I THINK THIS IS FAR DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WORLD LEADERS, EVEN IN THAT VERY CHAMBER, HEARD AND SAW FROM DONALD TRUMP DURING HIS FIRST TERM IN OFFICE. THIS IS SO VERY DETACHED FROM THE REALITY IN WHICH WE ARE ALL LIVING. AND TO USE, I THINK, THE WELL-TROD METAPHOR, DONALD TRUMP TRIES TO FANCY HIMSELF THE WORLD'S FIREFIGHTER. AND IN SO MANY WAYS, HE'S THE ARSONIST. YOU YOURSELF RAISED THE ISSUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, CONTRIBUTING TO WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS LAMENTING ABOUT IN THAT CLIP. LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER PICAYUNE EXAMPLE. TO USE JONATHAN'S WORD, WHEN HE WAS ON THAT ESCALATOR AND THE ESCALATOR STOPPED. WELL, I IMAGINE ONE OF THE REASONS THAT ESCALATOR STOPPED IS BECAUSE HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS WITHHELD HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING OVER HIS FIRST TERM IN OFFICE, AND DURING THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OR SO OF HIS CURRENT TERM TO THE UN. AND THE UN ITSELF IS FALLING APART. AND ON THAT VERY SCORE, YOU KNOW, CHRIS, I JUST HAD TO TAKE NOTE THAT THE AREA IN HIS SPEECH WHERE HE CAME ACROSS WITH THE MOST PASSION AND THE MOST FERVOR WAS TALKING ABOUT THE CONTRACT THAT TRUMP COMPANIES MISSED OUT ON SOME 20 YEARS AGO TO REFURBISH THE UN. WE KNEW THIS SPEECH WAS GOING TO BE SOMETHING WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP APPARENTLY SENT HIS SECRETARY OF STATE AND NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER OUT TO DO MORNING TELEVISION, WHERE MARCO RUBIO ALSO RAILED AGAINST THE UNITED NATIONS FOR NOT CHOOSING THE TRUMP COMPANIES TO DO THIS WORK, SOME 20 YEARS AGO. TO THE EXTENT THERE WAS ANY POLICY IN THIS SPEECH, IT WAS NONSENSICAL. IF YOU CAN MAKE ANY SENSE ABOUT WHAT HE WAS SAYING, WHAT HE WAS LAYING OUT, THAT THE UNITED STATES WOULD DO VIS A VIS ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS OR RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE, I COULDN'T DECIPHER IT. AND I THINK MANY LEADERS IN THAT