Someone rightly said, ‘truth is hard, propaganda is cheap.’ That’s a fact even if it comes from the highest podium of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). These days, world leaders are obsessed with themselves and do not mind using any platform for self-promotion. That is exactly what President Donald Trump addressed at the United Nations: a masterclass in self-promotion, even if it came at the cost of facts and queer logic. It was loaded with hypocrisy and double-speak.
Standing before the world, he portrayed himself as a peacemaker who “ended seven unendable wars,” yet his words rang hollow against the backdrop of his actions that fuel conflict, embolden aggressors, and undermine global order. Trump boasted that he “ended” conflicts from Cambodia and Thailand to Armenia and Azerbaijan, even claiming to have resolved the India-Pakistan dispute. It is another matter that India has strongly refuted his claim. Such claims show his disregard for history and facts. Even more jarring is his selective outrage.
Trump ridiculed the United Nations for producing “empty words” and “strongly worded letters” instead of real action. That is hypocrisy at its best. He is one of the few world leaders who have tried to bypass and subvert UN at any given opportunity. The same man who derides others for inaction presides over a foreign policy that has given Israel a free hand to devastate Gaza.
His rhetoric on Iran further exposed his contradictions. Trump spoke of promoting peace while intensifying hostility towards Tehran, fanning the flames of confrontation rather than seeking genuine dialogue. How can one call for global peace while escalating tensions with a sovereign state, all the while protecting Israel’s impunity in Gaza?
Even in Ukraine, Trump’s double standards were visible. He accused India and China of funding the war by purchasing Russian oil, conveniently overlooking America’s own long history of interventions, arms supplies, and proxy wars that have destabilised entire regions. Interestingly, he was shielding Russia from outright condemnation while shifting blame to New Delhi and Beijing. His version of peace is nothing but a distraction to hide its own failure to negotiate a truce, if not a complete end of the war.
A true peacemaker builds trust, balances power, and prevents suffering. Trump keeps making false claims, inflates his role, and sides selectively to maintain an upper hand. He claims to end wars but supports military escalations; he mocks the UN but thrives on disrupting multilateralism; he brands himself a peacemaker while presiding over policies that enable slaughter in Gaza.
The hollowness of Trump’s words reflects the deeper hollowness of his worldview. Peace is not a slogan to be repeated at the UN podium; it is a responsibility to be practised with consistency, fairness, and humanity.