September 23, 2025 New York, NY
(Note: The following is a compiled verbatim transcript based on official and reputable sources. The speech lasted approximately 58 minutes. Attributions such as [Laughter] and [Applause] are included where noted in the sources.)
President Trump:
“Thank you very much. Very much appreciate it. And I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter because the teleprompter is not working. [Laughter] I feel very happy to be up here with you nevertheless. And that way, you speak more from the heart. I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble. [Laughter]
These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. [Laughter] But we’ll get it fixed. We’ll get it fixed fast.
Hello, Madam First Lady. Thank you very much for being here, and Madam President, Mr. Secretary General, First Lady of the United States, distinguished delegates, ambassadors and world leaders. Six years have passed since I last stood in this grand hall and addressed a world that was prosperous and at peace in my first term. Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents.
An era of calm and stability gave way to one of the great crises of our time. And here in the United States, four years of weakness, lawlessness and radicalism under the last administration delivered our nation into a repeated set of disasters. One year ago our country was in deep trouble. But today, just eight months into my administration, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world.
And there is no other country even close. America is blessed with the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest military, the strongest friendships and the strongest spirit of any nation on the face of the earth. This is indeed the Golden Age of America. [Applause]
We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity that we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record setting inflation, inflation like we’ve never had before. Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down and inflation has been defeated. The only thing that’s up is the stock market, which just hit a record high. In fact, it’s hit a record high 48 times in the last short period of time. Growth is surging.
Manufacturing is booming. The stock market, as I said, is doing better than it’s ever done, and all of you in this room benefit by that, almost everybody. And importantly, worker’s wages are rising at the fastest pace in more than 60 years. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? [Applause] In four years of President Biden, we had less than $1 trillion of new investment into the United States.
In just eight months since I took office, we have secured commitments and money already paid for $17 trillion. Think of it. Four years less than a trillion, eight months much more than $17 trillion is being invested in the United States. And it’s now pouring in from all parts of the world. We’ve implemented the largest tax cuts in American history and the largest regulation cuts in American history, making this once and again the best country on earth to do business.
And many of the people in this room are investing in America, and it’s turned out to be an awfully good investment during this eight month period. In my first term, I built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had the best economy ever, history of the world. And I’m doing the same thing again, but this time it’s actually much bigger and even better. The numbers far surpass my record-setting first term. [Applause]
On our southern border, we have successfully repelled a colossal invasion. For the last four months, that’s four months in a row, the number of illegal aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero. Hard to believe, because if you look back just a year ago, it was millions and millions of people pouring in from all over the world—from prisons, from mental institutions, drug dealers all over the world. They came. They just poured into our country with the ridiculous open-border policy of the Biden administration.
Our message is very simple: if you come illegally into the United States, you’re going to jail, or you’re going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that—you know what that means. [Laughter] 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. It was under the previous administration that the number became record-setting, and they’re all being taken out.
We have no choice, and other countries have no choice because other countries are in the exact same situation with immigration. It’s destroying your country, and you have to do something about it on the world stage. [Applause]
America is respected again, like it has never been respected before. Think about two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, or even one year ago—we were a laughingstock. Now, leaders from every corner of the globe are coming to me, begging for help, begging for advice, begging for partnership. And we’re giving it to them, but on our terms.
Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex. I remember it so well. I said at the time that I would do it for $500 million, rebuilding everything, it would be beautiful. [Laughter] And it would be the envy of the world. But they didn’t take the deal. They spent billions, and look at it now. The escalators don’t work, the teleprompters don’t work. But we’re going to make it great again. [Applause]
Now, let’s talk about the world. The United Nations was founded on the principle of sovereign nations working together for peace and prosperity. But somewhere along the way, it became a club for globalists who want to erase borders, erase cultures, and erase sovereignty. That’s not what America stands for, and it’s not what most of you stand for. [Applause]
Look at Europe. Your countries are going to hell. [Gasps, then laughter] Migration is flooding your streets with crime, with drugs, with chaos. And the UN is funding it! You’re funding an assault on Western countries and their borders. It’s insanity. Strong borders are not hate; they’re survival. [Applause]
And climate change? It’s a con job. [Laughter and murmurs] We’ve got the cleanest air, the cleanest water of any country. But they’re trying to shut down your energy, force you into windmills that don’t work and solar panels that catch fire. No thank you. We need traditional energy—oil, gas, coal—to power our future. Renewables? They don’t work. Look at California. Blackouts everywhere. [Applause]
I’ve ended wars that the globalists started. In the Middle East, peace is blooming because I put America first. No more endless wars. In Ukraine, we’re close to a deal because I told Putin and Zelenskyy: fight your own fights, but if you want peace, come to me. And now, Ukraine might reclaim all its lost territory. NATO countries, shoot down those Russian planes if they cross your airspace. Simple. [Applause]
The UN can’t replace strong leaders. It can’t stop terrorism, can’t stop migration, can’t stop the loss of your cultural identity. Biological warfare? They’re experimenting in labs while you sleep. Wake up!
Together, let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect our children from the radical left’s indoctrination. Let us reject the failed approaches of the past and embrace freedom, sovereignty, and strength.
America is leading the way. Join us, or get left behind. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.” [Sustained applause]
(End of speech. The President waves and exits the podium amid applause.)