CHICAGO (WLS) — President Donald Trump will deliver the first address of his second term at the United Nations on Tuesday.
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Trump has been quite vocal about his dissatisfaction with the United Nations and the United States’ role in it.
The president promised to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza on the first day of his presidency. Both wars will take center stage as more than 140 world leaders gather for the 80th year of the United Nations in New York City.
“I hope the president will call on the United Nations to come together and work with the United States to bring an end to these hostilities,” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said.
Like all world leaders, Trump will get the opportunity to address the UN. While the international body was created to work together for world peace, the president has been highly critical.
“Donald Trump’s style is a little more aggressive, if you like, or grievance inflected, and so his pattern in these events has been to use them as a platform to complain about people,” Northwestern University Political Science Professor Ian Hurd said.
Hurd said he expects Trump to reinforce his idea of himself as a strong man; the kind leader the world needs to solve problems.
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Paul Poast, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, expects the president to use the platform to brag about his accomplishments by positioning himself as a peace maker.
“He has been continually saying how he has solved or ended six or seven different wars. I think he will bring that up again tomorrow. Now, of course, we can debate whether he actually did it or not,” Poast said.
But, the two big wars yet to be resolved will likely be the subject of many behind the scenes meetings with world leaders.
The UN meeting comes at a time when a growing number of countries support a Palestinian state.
The Trump administration is opposed to one as it continues its steadfast support of Israel.
“It’s a moment that I guess, will highlight the way that the US is really out of the mainstream on that issue, when 150 or so other countries all think that it’s time to go ahead and make Palestine a country,” Hurd said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations on Friday.
President Trump’s speech is scheduled in the late afternoon on Wednesday.
Every world leader gets to address the UN. All are given the same amount of time.
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