Summary
Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
World leaders met for the 80th United Nations General Assembly today in New York City. In his address to the body, which lasted almost an hour – more than three times the allotted length, Donald Trump issued a stunning indictment of immigration in European countries, clean energy projects, and the efficacy of the United Nations as an organization. French president Emmanuel Macron offered a dramatically different vision of the United Nations, calling for leaders to “restore the state of cooperation that prevailed 80 years ago” rather than “isolating ourselves”.
Trump held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskyy at the United Nations, promising US support for Ukraine. When asked by reporters whether Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, the president said “yes, I do”. And in a social media post later Trump said that Ukraine is in a position to “fight and win back” all of the territory it has lost since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion. During a meeting of the security council later, secretary of state Marco Rubio said the president was open to levying “additional economic costs” on Russia and selling additional defensive weaponry and “potentially offensive weaponry” to Ukraine. Appearing on Fox News later in the day, Zelenskyy said he believes his relationship with Trump has improved and that Trump can take important steps to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump held a multilateral meeting with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries, with a focus on ending the war in Gaza. Although Trump did not answer questions after the meeting ended, he opened the session by saying: “This is my most important meeting.”
The Secret Service said it had uncovered and dismantled a covert, high-tech operation in the New York area, which had the capability to disrupt cellular networks. Authorities revealed that the hidden communications system included over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers.
Ryan Routh, the man who attempted to assassinate Trump at the president’s Florida golf course last year, was found guilty in federal court today. Routh was convicted on five counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
After promising to meet with Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, on Thursday, 25 September, Trump shared in a social media post that he would no longer meet with the top Democratic lawmakers. The negotiations had been intended to secure a government funding measure, before it expires at the end of this month.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth decided to close a defense department advisory committee dedicated to recruiting and retaining women in the military. In a social media post announcing the closure of the defense advisory committee on women in the services a Pentagon spokesperson wrote: “The Committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department.”
Polls in Arizona have closed in a special election to decide who will fill the state’s vacant seventh congressional district seat. Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of the late progressive congressman Raúl Grijalva, is expected to win the seat vacated when her father died this year.
California and Brazil signed a deal to ‘achieve their climate neutrality goals’ at a meeting during New York City Climate Week on the sidelines of the UN general assembly. The new agreement with Brazil comes ahead of the United Nation’s Global Climate Change Conference (Cop30), which Brazil will host in November.
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A former Daca recipient has died in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody, according to an Ice statement. The incident is the 14th such case of a person dying in immigration detention since January.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, was a Mexican national who applied for and received immigration status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012. Ayala-Uribe was detained by immigration officials on 17 August. According to an Ice statement, Ayala-Uribe was evaluated by an Ice medical provider on 18 September and transferred to a local hospital on 21 September. Ayala-Uribe died at the medical center while still in Ice custody in the early hours of 22 September.
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“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to the air this evening at 11.35pm ET.
Disney indefinitely suspended Kimmel’s late-night talk show last Wednesday, under pressure from Donald Trump’s chair of the Federal Communications Commission over comments Kimmel made about Maga and the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. The decision sparked outrage from across the political spectrum about freedom of speech. Although Disney announced yesterday that it would reinstate Kimmel’s show, the show’s two largest broadcasters have declined to air the late night comedian.
The escalator that stopped while Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were arriving at the United Nations Headquarters may have been halted by an accidental triggering of its built-in safety function.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a videographer who stepped on the escalator ahead of the president may have accidentally triggered the safety mechanism which “is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing.”
California and Brazil sign deal to 'achieve their climate neutrality goals'
California signed an agreement with Brazilian leaders today to expand the state and country’s work to reduce pollution and create more green jobs
Earlier this year, California signed a memorandum of understanding with 21 Brazilian states to combat pollution and foster sustainable economic growth. California has undertaken similar environmental collaborations with Canada, New Zealand, Japan, China, the Netherlands and others.
The new agreement with Brazil comes ahead of the United Nation’s Global Climate Change Conference (Cop30), which Brazil will host in November.
“Partnerships with subnational governments, such as the memorandum of understanding signed today with the state of California, are essential to ensure that climate action continues to move forward in the United States, for the benefit of its own population and all of humanity,” said Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister of the environment and climate change. “This commitment will support Brazil and California to achieve their climate neutrality goals by 2050 and 2045, respectively.”
The news came the same day global leaders at the United Nations, including French president Emmanuel Macron, emphasized the need for nations to “restore the state of cooperation that prevailed 80 years ago”, when the UN was founded.
“Our action today emphasizes that global challenges require global cooperation,” California governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a social media post announcing the agreement with Brazil.
The California governor is in New York City today for Climate Week, where he has met with leaders from Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union on the sidelines of the general assembly.
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Gustavo Petro, the Colombian president, criticized the Trump administration’s recent strikes on Venezuelan boats during his speech at the UN general assembly.
“They said that the missiles in the Caribbean were used to stop drug trafficking. That is a lie stated here in this very rostrum,” Petro said. “Was it really necessary to bomb unarmed, poor young people in the Caribbean?
The United States struck two Venezuelan boats, first on 2 September and again on 15 September, killing 11 people in the first strike and three in the second.
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Arizona votes for special election to fill seventh congressional seat
Polls in Arizona will close in about an hour as voters turn out for a special election to decide who will fill the state’s vacant seventh congressional district seat.
Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of the late progressive congressman Raúl Grijalva, is expected to win the seat vacated when her father died this year.
Raúl Grijalva held the seat for more than two decades, until his death at 77 in March. His daughter would become the first Latina that Arizona has sent to Congress.
Here’s more from my colleague Rachel Leingang – we’ll bring you more news once the polls close:
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While world leaders gathered for the United Nations general assembly today, protesters took to the streets in New York City to demonstrate in support of a range of causes: from ending the war in Gaza to opposing Donald Trump’s presidency and drawing attention to the crisis in Sudan.
Here are a selection of images from the day:
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Zelenskyy says he and Trump have 'better relation than before' on Fox News
Appearing on Fox News this evening, Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskyy said he believes his relationship with Donald Trump has improved and that Trump can take important steps to end the war in Ukraine, without conceding Ukrainian territories.
“I think we have a better relation than before,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy faced Trump in a famously heated Oval Office meeting in February. “I think the fact that Putin was lying to President Trump so many times also made a difference between us.”
“I think that President Trump can change the attitude of Xi Jinping to this war,” Zelenskyy added. He said he also believed Trump could manage India’s support for Ukraine.
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Hundreds of federal employees at the General Services Administration, who lost their jobs during mass federal layoffs spearheaded by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, have been asked to return to work, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press.
The memo offers fired employees the opportunity to return to work by 6 October after seven months of paid leave.
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North Carolina’s legislature has approved a criminal justice bill named in honor of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on a commuter train last month.
The Republican-backed package will head next to the Democratic governor, Josh Stein..
“Iryna’s law” would eliminate cashless bail for many crimes and offer conditions for when offenders should be evaluated for involuntary commitment. The bill could also help restart executions in the state.
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A gathering of the security council focused on the war in Ukraine has ended.
During the meeting, Russia’s deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Ukrainians are fighting for the “advancement of Western geopolitical interests” and criticized “unsubstantiated allegations” of Russian drones entering Polish and Estonian air space.
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Macron urges nations to work together to stop 'might is right' from prevailing
The French president Emmanuel Macron offered a dramatically different vision of the United Nations during his general assembly speech today, just hours after Donald Trump railed against the effectiveness of the body.
Acknowledging that this meeting of the general assembly falls on the United Nation’s 80th anniversary, Macron invoked the memory of the UN’s founding – following two world wars.
“Our world today deserves the same resolve we had then in terms of working together,” he said. “We need more than ever before to restore the state of cooperation that prevailed 80 years ago. However, in spite of that, we’re isolating ourselves.”
He noted that “climate change is not under control, biodiversity is collapsing” – just hours after Trump called climate change a “green scam” – and that “global trade is weathering tariff wars”.
While the United Nations’ “harshest critics are those who want to change the name of the game; they want to dominate” Macron emphasized that “we don’t want ‘might is right’ to prevail. That is the risk.”
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Trump suggests he will meet Israel after multilateral talks with Arab and Muslim leaders
Donald Trump’s meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders at the United Nations has concluded. The president did not answer any questions, but White House pool reporters noted that he said he had a “very good meeting” and teased his intention to follow up with a meeting with Israel.
The Associated Press also noted that special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a thumbs-up in response to a question about how the meeting went.
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China’s representative to the security council criticized the use of sanctions, a strategy that the Trump administration has shown renewed interest in at this meeting of the UN general assembly.
“Abusing unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction under the pretext of the crisis does not contribute to a political settlement,” the representative said.
The US has previously levied sanctions against China, and Chinese companies, for supporting Russia.
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Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, touted Donald Trump’s role in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine during a meeting of the UN security council, while also noting that the president was open to levying “additional economic costs” on Russia and selling additional defensive weaponry and “potentially offensive weaponry” to Ukraine.
“The president is a very patient man,” Rubio said, “but his patience is not infinite.”
“The United States remains as committed as it has ever been to a peaceful resolution to this dangerous conflict, but there will come a moment where we will have to conclude that perhaps there is no interest in a peaceful resolution,” he added.
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Defense secretary Pete Hegseth has decided to close a defense department advisory committee dedicated to recruiting and retaining women in the military.
In a social media post announcing the closure of the defense advisory committee on women in the services, Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson, wrote: “The Committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department.”
The advisory committee was founded in 1951 under Harry Truman’s presidency. The Military Times reported earlier this year that the committee was one of 14 defense advisory committees flagged for potential termination, though many of those would require congressional approval to be disbanded.
Here’s more from my colleague Rachel Leingang:
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Speaking to the UN general assembly today, Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, said “trade is now being used as a weapon against a number of countries in the world”.
The comment may have been a reference to Donald Trump’s tariffs – which include a 30% levy against South Africa. In May, Ramaphosa met Trump in the Oval Office, where the president played Ramaphosa a video that he falsely claimed proved genocide was being committed against white people under “the opposite of apartheid”.
Here’s more on the state of the US-South Africa relationship from my colleague David Smith:
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticized Donald Trump for canceling a meeting with top Congressional Democrats, scheduled for Thursday, ahead of an approaching government funding deadline at the end of the month.
At a press conference, Schumer said Trump should “stop ranting” and that “time is of the essence” as the 30 September deadline approaches.
“Mr. President, do your job,” Schumer said.
Zelenskyy tells UN Russia is 'doing everything' to prolong war in Ukraine
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also speaking currently at a UN meeting of the Security Council.
“One of the prominent members of this council is doing everything to prolong the largest war in Europe since World War II,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia does this with its veto power.”
“China is also represented here, a powerful nation on which Russia relies completely,” he added. “Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing.”
Zelenskyy also nodded to his recent meeting with Donald Trump. “We expect America’s actions to push Moscow toward peace,” he said.
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Donald Trump’s multilateral meeting with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries has begun.
In brief remarks to reporters, Trump said, “We want to end the war in Gaza.”
“This is my most important meeting,” he added. “We’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”
During his pull aside with Macron, Donald Trump flagged that his next meeting – a multilateral sitdown with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries – will be crucial to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
“We’re going to see if we can do something about it. We want to stop that. We want to get our hostages back, or their hostages back.”
Much like his address to the general assembly today, the president said that we can’t “forget” the October 7 attack by Hamas in his meeting with Macron. In response, the French president said “nobody forgets the seventh of October”.
This week, France joined Britain, Canada, Portugal and Australia to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. For his part, Donald Trump has branded the move as a “reward to Hamas”.
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In meeting with Macron, Trump reiterates belief that Ukraine has power to gain back territory: 'I really do feel that way'
In a meeting with French president Emanuel Macron, Donald Trump reiterated his recent comments on Truth Social that Ukraine has the potential to win back all the territory it has lost to Russia in the three and a half years since the most recent war in the region began.
Trump said that Ukraine’s ability to fight back might prove that Russia is a “paper tiger”.
“I feel that way. I really do feel that way. Let them get their land back,” the president added.
Trump says Ukraine is able to win back all the land it lost since the beginning of the invasion
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that Ukraine is in a position to “fight and win back” all of the territory it has lost since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion.
“Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote, in a rare full-throated endorsement of Ukraine’s potential.
“Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump said in his lengthy social media meditation. He added that the US will continue to supply Nato with weapons for purchase.
Earlier, in a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that the “Russian economy is terrible right now” and Ukraine has done a “pretty amazing” job at staving off the Kremlin’s forces.
EU chief says Trump is 'absolutely right' about Europe buying Russian oil
Earlier, president of the EU commission Ursula von der Leyen said that Donald Trump was “absolutely right” about European countries continuing to buy Russian energy products. A move the president described as “inexcusable” in his address to the UN general assembly today.
“We’re on it. We have reduced already massive gas supply from Russia, completely gotten out of Russian coal, and massively also reduced the oil supply. But there’s still some coming to the European continent,” von der Leyen said during a pull aside meeting with the presiden. “So what we do now? We put sanctions out to those ports where, for example, energy is coming from Russia. And we want to put tariffs on oil supplies that are still coming to the European Union.”
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Man who attempted to assassinate Trump at Florida golf course found guilty
Ryan Routh, the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at the president’s Florida golf course last year, has been found guilty in federal court today.
Routh, 59, was convicted on five counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. In September 2024, he was spotted with a rifle hiding in the bushes at the president’s West Palm Beach club as Trump’s golfing party approached. Routh represented himself in court, and prosecutors accused him of plotting for months to kill Donald Trump during his successful run to return to the White House.
“Today’s guilty verdict against would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” said attorney general Pam Bondi.
Jurors deliberated for just a few hours before returning with a guilty verdict. According to reports from the courtroom, as the verdict was being read, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen.
Fox News reports that four marshals then dragged Routh out of the court room, shackled him, and brought him back.
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Keir Starmer is facing demands from Labour MPs to reprimand the Trump administration after the president falsely claimed London wanted to “go to sharia law” under its “terrible mayor”, Sadiq Khan.
During his address to the UN general assembly, Trump said: “I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that.”
The development will cause further discomfort in No 10 after Trump was last week honored with an unprecedented second state visit to the UK. Starmer has repeatedly cited the ability to avoid the worst of US tariffs as a reason for his largely conciliatory approach to Trump.
Rosena Allin-Khan, the Member of Parliament for Tooting, said Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK and an ally of Trump, should be called to account for the president’s remarks.
Khan was also defended by Wes Streeting, the health secretary, who wrote on X: “Sadiq Khan is not trying to impose sharia law on London. This is a mayor who marches with Pride, who stands up for difference of background and opinion, who’s focused on improving our transport, our air, our streets, our safety, our choices and chances.”
The White House confirms that Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrapped a short while ago.
In addition to the president’s multilateral meeting with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries, he will also have separate meetings with French president Emmanuel Macron, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president of Uzbekistan, later today, according to a White House official.
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Fact-checking Donald Trump's speech to the UN general assembly
My colleague, Robert Tait, has also been covering the president’s address to the UN general assembly. He’s got a very helpful guide to the spurious claims that the president made throughout his speech – at least five by his count.
Read more below.
Trump says Nato countries have the right to shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace
When asked by reporters whether Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, the president said “yes, I do”.
He later added that support for Nato allies would depend on the circumstance, but expressed his appreciation for the group’s purchase power in terms of weapons being sent to Ukraine.
“Nato stepped up, you know, when they went from 2% to 5%. That was great unity,” Trump said. “It’s a lot of weapons they’re buying, and they’re buying them from us. They’re buying them from the US.”
Trump and Zelenskyy take part in bilateral meeting, discuss pressure campaign on Russia
The president took part in a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations today.
For his part, Zelenskyy said that he supported Donald Trump’s remarks, during his general assembly address today, where he said that the US would be willing to Europe needed to stop buying Russian gas and oil as long as Vladimir Putin refuses to end the war in Ukraine.
“They’re funding the war against themselves,” Trump said during his speech.
The Ukrainian leader said “more pressure and more sanctions” would be needed to deter the Kremlin.
Trump went on to say that he’ll “hopefully” be able to talk about what security guarantees the US can offer Ukraine, but stopped short of providing any details. “It’s a little bit too early to answer that question,” he said.
When asked Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to keep buying Russian energy products, Trump was confident that he has the power to persuade his close ally: “He’s a friend of mine. I have not spoken to him, but I have a feeling if I did, he might stop, and I think I’ll be doing that.”
The president reflected further on his address today in a pull aside with president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“It’s a great honor to be with a very powerful, very smart woman and a friend of mine,” Trump said. “She does a fantastic job running lots of different nations.”
He went on to say that the United Nations has the potential to be “unbelievable” if “certain people” were running it.
“Recently, I started thinking, you know, we were never helped by the UN,” the president added. “It should be great. I mean, we shouldn’t have any wars if the UN is really doing its job.”
Trump says that his UN speech was 'very well received'
In a post on Truth Social, the president summarized that his address to the UN general assembly, which lasted almost an hour, was “very well received”.
He added:
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.
Donald Trump’s description of the climate crisis as a “con job” came as little surprise to other countries, as the US president has repeatedly denied climate science - which is backed up by decades of rigorous scientific work by thousands of researchers - multiple times in the past, as well as dismantling the US federal government’s efforts on climate action.
Ilana Seid, ambassador of Palau, and current chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, said:
Their position has always been ‘drill baby drill’, so we were not surprised.
She said it was not possible to tell whether Trump’s words would have an impact on other countries, ahead of a key meeting that António Guterres, UN secretary-general, will hold tomorrow in New York to discuss speeding up reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions. “The secretary-general has convened meetings with world leaders, and all have reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris agreement and the importance of multilateralism. [The key is] making sure they’re living up to their promises,” she said.
She added: “The conversations in rooms I have been in [at the UN general assembly this week] have had leaders reaffirm our collective obligation to the Paris agreement.”
Trump is withdrawing the US from the Paris agreement, even as the world prepares for a crunch conference on the climate, the Cop30 summit in Brazil in November. Unlike Trump, other world leaders must turn up, said Seid.
“Cop30 will be a very important Cop [conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, parent treaty to the Paris agreement],” she told journalists on a press call. “We will see who shows up to drive the process forward.”
In the UK, experts called on politicians to ignore Trump’s advice. Alasdair Johnstone, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, said:
Polling consistently shows a clear majority of the British public are supportive of efforts to tackle climate change. The impacts of climate change are visible to many in the UK, as they see flooding, heatwaves, or crops failing in the fields, playing out as British scientists had predicted.
British politicians should be careful in aligning with Trump’s denial of climate change and being perceived as out of touch with the public; there is no electoral dividend here. Science told us the world is not flat, and science has also undeniably told us the world is heating up because of the emissions we have pumped into the atmosphere. Reaching net zero emissions is the only way we reach climate balance and stop climate change.
Trump gives Argentinian president Javier Milei 'full backing and endorsement' for re-election
Meeting with Argentina’s Javier Milei on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York, Donald Trump pulled him aside and endorsed him for re-election as president, announcing to reporters:
We are giving the president of Argentina our full backing and endorsement.
He went on:
I’m doing something I don’t often do, I’m giving my full endorsement to him … The people of Argentina - we’re backing him 100%. He, like us, inherited a mess and what he’s done to fix it is good … we need to make Argentina great again so it’s an honor for me to endorse.
Milei, an ally of the US president, thanked him and they shook hands.
Per White House pool reporter Emily Goodin, Trump answered a few questions about his endorsement and the bailout, adding that he would help Argentina, but didn’t think a bailout was needed.
We’re gonna help them but I don’t think they need a bailout. He’s doing a fantastic job.
A White House spokesperson told the pool there will be more announcements about Argentina‘s financial situation made. We’ll bring you more on that as we get it.
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In lighter news, last night Emmanuel Macron had to walk half an hour by foot through New York after his speech to the United Nations on recognising Palestine as a state after his vehicle was stopped by police to make way for the arrival of Donald Trump’s motorcade.
Video footage shows the French president getting out of his car to talk to police officers, saying he needs to get to his country’s consulate. “I’m sorry, president, I’m really sorry, everything has been frozen, there’s a motorcade coming right now,” an officer tells Macron, who then looks out over the empty street and replies: “I don’t see it, let me cross.”
Macron, who remains stuck behind a metal barrier, takes out his phone and appears to call Trump directly. Leaning on the barrier, he says, laughingly: “How are you? Guess what? I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you.” He also mentions wanting to get together with Qatar to discuss the situation in Gaza.
Macron later appears to be allowed through on foot but not in his car. Still on his phone, he proceeds to stride off down the street, past shoppers and pedestrians. Macron reportedly walked for about 30 minutes with his security detail. He stopped and posed with passersby who asked for photographs, including one encounter with a man who kissed him on the forehead.
Here’s the surreal footage:
As we’ve been reporting, Donald Trump has attacked countries that have embraced the “green scam” of clean energy, using his speech at the United Nations to urge governments to stay wedded to the fossil fuels that are causing the climate crisis.
Trump, who has instigated the gutting of climate regulations and the halting of clean energy projects in the US, told leaders in New York on Tuesday that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated upon the world”.
Countries are on the brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.
Trump has long promoted fossil fuel extraction in the US, which he calls “drill, baby, drill”, but is now expanding this credo internationally by targeting the climate policies of other countries and striking deals in a bid to ensure the ongoing purchase of American oil and gas, rather than clean energy technology coming from China.
Trump told the UN that the idea of a carbon footprint is “nonsense” and criticized Europe for cutting its own planet-heating emissions. “Congratulations Europe, great job, you’ve cost yourself a lot of jobs, a lot of factories,” said Trump, who added that he recently spent three days urging Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, to drill for more oil and move away from wind and solar.
I want to see them do well, I want to stop them ruining their beautiful Scottish and English countryside with windmills and massive solar panels. We aren’t letting this happen in America.
Trump also, erroneously, blamed global air pollution problems on China, claimed environmentalists want to “kill all the cows” and that previous predictions of global heating were wrong and a “hoax”.
Scientists have, in fact, largely been accurate in their forecasts of rising temperatures and are now clear that the world must transition away from fossil fuels to avoid further, disastrous, heating.
Countries are set to meet in Brazil in November to thrash out new targets to cut emissions, although most have not submitted new goals as yet and many are wayward in their existing cuts.
António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has convened a meeting of leaders for Wednesday to try to spur greater momentum for deeper emissions cuts. In a speech delivered shortly before Trump spoke, Guterres said that “fossil fuels are a losing bet” and called on richer countries to do more.
“We have the solutions and tools but we must choose climate justice and climate action,” he said.
Following that speech to the UN, Donald Trump’s first bilateral meeting of the day is with UN secretary-general António Guterres.
Their meeting started at 11:40am ET, per a White House official, with US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, secretary of state Marco Rubio, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and US special envoy Steve Witkoff also seated on the American side.
Per White House pool reporter Emily Goodin, Guterres has talked about how the United States is “essential” to UN and praised Trump for working toward “peace”. “We are entirely at your disposal to work together toward a just peace,” he told the US president.
To which Trump replied (in a markedly different tone to his blistering speech to the assembly earlier):
It’s always an honor to be here but this was more exciting with the escalator and teleprompter.
These things happen … Our country is behind the United Nations 100%. I think the potential of the United Nations is incredible. Really incredible. It can do so much. I’m behind it. I may disagree with it some times but I am so behind it … The potential for peace with this institution is so great.
So I just want to thank you for treating us so lovely.
Leaders did not take questions.
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Trump cancels meeting on short-term funding bill with top Congressional Democrats
Just before taking to the podium and addressing the UN general assembly, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would no longer meet with top Democratic lawmakers – Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries – to discuss their health care provisions in a short-term spending bill that has stalled in Congress.
Trump said that no meeting with the leaders could “possibly be productive”, after both of them confirmed a sitdown had been scheduled for this week.
“All Congressional Democrats want to do is enact Radical Left Policies that nobody voted for — High Taxes, Open Borders, No Consequences for Violent Criminals, Men in Women’s Sports, Taxpayer funded “TRANSGENDER” surgery, and much more,” Trump wrote. “To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for. DO THE RIGHT THING!”
In response, senator Schumer said that when Trump was “finished ranting” they could “sit down and discuss health care”.
Meanwhile, congressman Jeffries wrote that “Trump always chickens out”, adding that “extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.”
A reminder that the government is hurtling towards a shutdown, as current funding expires at the end of September. Lawmakers from both chambers are currently on recess, with only the Senate due to return just one day before funding lapses.
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'Your countries are going to hell': recap of Donald Trump's address to the UN general assembly
In an address lasting almost an hour, more than three times the allotted length, Donald Trump issued a stunning indictment of immigration in European countries, clean energy projects, and the efficacy of the United Nations as an organization. Without a working teleprompter, the president went off-script regularly and even attacked his political adversaries.
Trump began his speech by criticizing the UN for not helping him in the process of “ending seven wars” since he returned to office. The self-professed achievement isn’t quite accurate, as my colleague Andrew Roth reports. But it didn’t stop the president for slamming the UN, claiming it’s not living up to its potential: “All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war,” he said. “The only thing that solves war and wars is action.”
Without acknowledging that he hasn’t fulfilled his campaign promise of ending the war in Ukraine “on day one”, Trump laid blame on countries for buying Russian oil. He called out India, China, and a number of Nato allies. “They’re funding the war against themselves,” Trump said. As hopes of a ceasefire feel increasingly elusive, the president said that “in the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs.” But he scolded Europe, saying that they would “have to join” the US by “adopting the exact same measures”.
For much of his speech, the president went on lengthy tirades about immigration. He used his leadership in America as example of “bold action” to “swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration”, but issued a stunning warning that European countries are “going to hell”. Trump called the overall rate of immigration throughout Europe as part of the “globalist migration agenda” and urged many allies to “end the failed experiment of open borders”.
Ultimately, Trump’s thesis tied immigration with clean energy projects the two issues that would lead to “the death of Western Europe”. Throughout his address, the president derided several renewable energy projects and said that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and means you can’t “get away from this green scam”. He then issued a warning to countries investing in these projects: “Your country is going to fail. And I’m really good at predicting things.”
When it came to the war in Gaza, Trump said next to nothing about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region. Instead he focused on the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. “We want all 20 back. We don’t want two and four,” he said. “Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace.” The president continued to disagree with the growing body of countries who have formally recognized a Palestinian state. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7,” Trump said.
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Trump denigrates clean energy projects and calls climate change the 'greatest con job'
Throughout his speech, Trump has denigrated clean energy projects in various countries as fruitless and part of the “green new scam”.
He’s derided several renewable energy projects and said that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and means you can’t “get away from this green scam”.
He then issues a warning to countries investing in these projects: “Your country is going to fail. And I’m really good at predicting things.”
For context, investment in renewable energy has continued to increase around the world despite moves by Trump’s White House to cancel and derail low-carbon projects.
In the first half of 2025, investment globally in renewable technologies and projects reached a record $386bn, up by about 10% on the same period last year.
Investment in energy around the world is likely to hit about $3.3 trillion (£2.4tn) this year. While more than $1tn of the total is still likely to flow into fossil fuels, double that amount – about $2.2tn – is expected for low-carbon forms of energy.
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In another tangent, Trump touted his move to federalize the DC police and deploy the National Guard. “My people have done a fantastic job,” he said. “Washington DC is now a totally safe city again, and I welcome you to come. In fact, we’ll have dinner together at a local restaurant, and we’ll be able to walk. We don’t have to go by an armor plated vehicle.”
In a speech that has gone well beyond his allotted time, the president said that he’s “here to tell the truth”.
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m in New York City,” he added.
Trump scolds migration throughout Europe
The president has launched into a fairly lengthy tirade on rates of immigration throughout Europe. He urges allies to learn from his work in America: “We’ve taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration. Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States. They simply stopped coming.”
Trump called the overall rate of immigration throughout Europe as part of the “globalist migration agenda”.
He issued a stern and stunning warning to the countries he sees as overrun by immigrants. “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now,” he said. “Your countries are going to hell.”
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Trump threatens 'powerful tariffs' if Russia is 'not ready to end the war' in Ukraine
The president has said that “in the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs.”
But he scolded European allies, and said that they would “have to join” the US by “adopting the exact same measures”.
He added:
You’re much closer to the city. We have an ocean in between. You’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia.
Trump pushes for Hamas to release hostages, without mentioning humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The president said that “Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace” since the October 7 attack.
While Trump briefly acknowledged that “we have to stop the war in Gaza immediately”, he didn’t mention the worsening humanitarian crisis. “We’ve got to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back. We don’t want two and four,” Trump said.
'It's empty words': Trump lambasts UN for lack of foreign policy help
The president, who hasn’t yet acknowledged the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, has begun criticizing the organization for not helping Trump with any of his foreign policy work.
Trump repeated his misleading claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office. “The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it,” the president said. “All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.”
The president then went on a tangent, denigrating the renovation of the United Nations complex.
Donald Trump has opened his speech with a ‘greatest hits’ of his first eight months back in office. He’s rattled off a number of reasons why he thinks America is in its “golden age”.
He’s also spent a chunk of his address talking about his crackdown on immigration in his second term:
I want to thank the country of El Salvador for the successful and professional job they’ve done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country, and it was under the previous administration that the number became record setting, and they’re all being taken out.
Trump begins speech by noting that teleprompter is not working. “I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he jokes.
Donald Trump begins address to UN general assembly
Donald Trump has started his address to the UN general assembly. He is following Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula says it's 'regrettable' that Palestinian president is unable to attend general assembly
President Lula of Brazil just said that it was “regrettable” that Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was unable to occupy the Palestinian bench at the general debate today. This comes after the state department announced that it was denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority on national security grounds.
Lula also called out the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, noting that “hunger is used as a weapon of war” and said that “the Palestinian people are at risk of disappearing”.
Brazil's president is first world leader to speak at UN general assembly
Before Donald Trump takes the podium, we’re hearing from Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula has already called out the “consequences” of authoritarianism in his own country. He notes that his predecessor, Jair Bolsanaro, was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to stay in power illegally.
Notably, Bolsanoro is an ally of Donald Trump, and the president has critcized and punished Brazil with several additional sanctions for prosecuting its former leader.
Donald Trump and the first lady arrive at UN general assembly
The president and first lady have arrived at the United Nations headquarters ahead of his address to the general assembly.
Top Congressional Democrats to meet with Trump on Thursday - report
Donald Trump will meet with Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, on Thursday 25 September, according to Politico.
On Monday, reports confirmed the president had agreed to meet with the top Democrats, after they sent a letter to Trump, asking to meet and discuss the stopgap funding bills that stalled in Congress last week. Punchbowl News first reported that meeting was happening, but didn’t list a date. It’s currently unclear if Republican leadership will be present at the sitdown, according to Politico.
Government funding expires at the end of this month, and with lawmakers in their districts on recess this week, a shutdown is looming.
The White House, however, still lays blame for a possible government shutdown squarely at the feet of Democrats, and brands their push for various health care provisions as part of a short-term funding extension as unreasonable.
“If the government is shut down, it’s only going to it will be the fault of the Democrats, and it will only hurt the most vulnerable in our country,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a briefing this week.
UN secretary general opens general debate
A meeting of world leaders at the UN’s general assembly in New York has officially begun, with the body’s secretary general, António Guterres, now opening its 80th general debate.
“Eighty years ago, in a world scorched by war, leaders made a choice, cooperation over chaos, law over lawlessness, peace over conflict, and that choice gave birth to the United Nations, not as a dream for perfection, but as a practical strategy for survival of humanity,” Guterres said.
“Eighty years on, we confront again the question our founders faced, only more urgent more intertwined more unforgiving,” he said.
Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be the first world leader to speak. Trump will follow him at about 9:50am EST.
Top secret service agent says that intercepted threat could have 'shut down' cellular network throughout New York
In a video message, Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service New York field office, said that the devices recovered allow “anonymous, encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises”. He added that this would enable criminal organizations to operate undetected, and had the potential to “disable mobile phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City”.
McCool added that the Secret Service would “continue to run down all leads until we fully understand the intent of the operation and identify those responsible”.
Rubio calls UN 'feckless' ahead of Trump's address to general assembly,
In an interview with Fox & Friends a short while ago, secretary of state Marco Rubio telegraphed the president’s speech at the general assembly today, while taking jabs at the organization at large. “It’s just a place where once a year a bunch of people meet and give speeches and write out a bunch of letters and statements but not a lot of good, important action is happening,” he said. “I think it’s emblematic of how feckless the UN has become as an organization.”
Rubio added that he thinks the president will “challenge the UN to find its meaning and its purpose and its utility as an organization because it doesn’t seem to be doing the job”.
While the Secret Service hasn’t confirmed that the telecommunications threat was targeting the United Nations general assembly, the agency said that the devices were “concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting” and the investigation is ongoing.
The Secret Service added that early forensic analysis of the deviced indicates “cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement”.
Trump to address UN general assembly as US allies recognize Palestinian statehood
Following the news that the Secret Service intercepted a threat to distrupt cellular networks in New York, in just over an hour Donald Trump will addresses the United Nations general assembly in the city.
We’ll bring you the latest lines, and keep an ear out for a number of topics: the chorus of allies across the world formally recognizing Palestinian statehood, the call for more severe sanctions on Russia as the war in Ukraine rages on, and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that in his speech, the president will “touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order” before articulating his “his straightforward and constructive vision for the world”.
After his speech, Trump has several high stakes bilateral meetings, including with Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelesnkyy and Argentinian leader Javier Milei – a fierce ally of the president. For context, the treasury department said this week that it was prepared to help Argentina’s struggling economy. “Argentina is a systemically important U.S. ally in Latin America,” said secretary Scott Bessent. “Argentina will be Great Again.”
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Here are a couple more photos that were released by the Secret Service:
Secret Service 'dismantles imminent telecommunications threat' in New York area
The Secret Service said on Tuesday that it had uncovered and dismantled a covert, high-tech operation in the New York area, which had the capability to disrupt cellular networks.
The discovery came as international leaders were preparing to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly nearby, the New York Times reported.
Authorities revealed that the hidden communications system included over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers.
It was designed to allow anonymous, encrypted messaging and had the potential to interfere with emergency communication services.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said US Secret Service director Sean Curran.
“The US Secret Service’s protective mission is all about prevention and this investigation makes it clear to potential bad actors that imminent threats to our protectees will be immediately investigated, tracked down and dismantled.”
According to one official, the network could send up to 30 million text messages per minute without revealing the sender’s identity – an operation of unprecedented scale, the official noted.
While investigators have not found any direct evidence linking the system to a threat against the UN event, Secret Service representatives, who spoke anonymously due to the ongoing nature of the case, confirmed that the network is no longer active.
As the Trump administration has fired federal employees and top officials for political reasons, blocked millions of dollars Congress appropriated and flouted legal norms, several legal outfits are providing crucial pro bono and other help to many individuals hurt by Donald Trump’s authoritarian actions, say lawyers involved and ex-prosecutors.
Lowell & Associates, Democracy Defenders Fund and the Washington Litigation Group, are among the leading legal groups with clients battling to get their jobs back, avoid prosecutions, or recoup millions of dollars that have been illegally blocked, say attorneys with the trio and experts.
Veteran white-collar lawyers, ex-justice department (DoJ) prosecutors and other legal talent at these firms are representing prominent figures Trump’s administration has fired to settle political scores, ex-officials his administration has launched investigations into, and scores of other officials ousted without cause, say lawyers.
Former DoJ prosecutors credit these smaller legal outfits for challenging administration moves that jeopardize the rule of law
“The creation of these new entities reflects a broad-based professional revulsion at the ongoing efforts to undermine the rule of law by the Trump administration, including turning the DoJ into an extension of the White House rather than a department that is faithful to the facts and the law,” said ex-DoJ inspector general Michael Bromwich.
Chad Mizelle, the Department of Justice chief of staff and a close ally of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, will step down in the coming weeks to return to his family in Tampa, Axios reported on Tuesday.
Mizelle told Axios he will continue to support the Trump administration and focus on exposing left-wing groups responsible for violence across America.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
World Health Organization rejects unproven autism-Tylenol link: 'The evidence remains inconsistent'
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that evidence of a link between the use of paracetemol during pregnancy and autism remained inconsistent and that the value of life-saving vaccines should not be questioned.
US president Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol by women when pregnant, elevating claims not backed by scientific evidence to the forefront of US health policy.
“The evidence remains inconsistent,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing when asked about a possible link between paracetemol use in pregnancy and autism.
“We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” he added.
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Former CDC official pushes back on unproven claim linking autism and Tylenol
Speaking on a call organized by Defend America Action, a campaign group, Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer and deputy director at the CDC, told journalists: “As of three weeks ago, we hadn’t seen evidence that acetaminophen was linked with autism, so it’s curious to know how quickly that was developed.”
“There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4m births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol [known in the US as acetaminophen] in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability,” said Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University
“The fearmongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy.
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Alison Singer, president and founder of the Autism Science Foundation, voiced scathing criticism of the administration’s approach – specifically its assertions on Tylenol, which she called “not scientifically based”.
“Any association between Tylenol and autism is based on very limited, conflicting and inconsistent science, and it’s premature to make this kind of unsubstantiated claim and risk undermining public health,” she said.
“It’s misleading to families who deserve clear more factually based information.”
She also questioned the basis of the White House announcement. “We’re uncertain as to why this press conference is being held today. To our knowledge, there was no new data that were uncovered, no new studies published, no new presentations were made. There wasn’t a scientific conference or a medical conference,” Singer said.
Medical and autism experts decry Trump’s Tylenol claims
Good morning, and welcome to our coverage of US politics on a busy day for Donald Trump as he is due to address the UN general assembly at 9.50am EST with several meetings scheduled for later. We’ll be bringing you all the news through the day.
But first let’s cover some other developments, including the reaction to Monday’s press conference when the president linked autism to the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, by women when pregnant.
He delivered medical advice to pregnant women and parents of young children, repeatedly telling them not to use or administer the painkiller and suggesting that common vaccines not be taken together or so early in a child’s life.
“I want to say it like it is, don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” Trump said. “Other things that we recommend, or certainly I do anyway, is ... don’t let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you’ve ever seen in your life,” he said, referring to vaccines.
Trump’s team suggested leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms.
Dozens of medical, research, and autism advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, decried the president’s announcement.
“The data cited do not support the claim that Tylenol causes autism and leucovorin is a cure, and only stoke fear and falsely suggest hope when there is no simple answer,” the Coalition of Autism Scientists said in a statement, reported Reuters.
New York University bioethicist Art Caplan told Associated Press it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”
You can read our report here:
In other news:
Disney annoucned that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to television today. This comes after the late night show has spent almost a week off the air, after ABC suspended production.
Donald Trump signed an executive order designating ‘antifa’ as a domestic terrorist organization. The news follows Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he was planning such an order following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Antifa, short for “anti-fascists”, is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning activist groups and is not a single entity.
As the president prepares to address the UN general assembly on Tuesday, the White House responded to several countries formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. “Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas,” the press secretary said yesterday. “He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies. And I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the UN.”
Trump will meet with top Congressional Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries this week regarding healthcare spending and a spending bill to keep the government funded.
Lindsey Halligan, a former Florida insurance lawyer who has been serving as a special assistant to the president, has been sworn in as interim US attorney, replacing Erik Siebert. Siebert, a longtime prosecutor who had been overseeing investigations into Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and James Comey, the former FBI director, resigned Friday amid pressure from the Trump administration.
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