Donald Trump's visit to UN headquarters in New York in September 2025 was rife with symbolism.
As the US president stepped onto the escalator in the lobby ahead of his address, it stopped working. Then, the teleprompter failed during his speech, prompting the former TV star to tell the assembled heads of state and government, half-jokingly: "These are the two things I got from the United Nations: A bad escalator and a bad teleprompter."
The United Nations is the central institution of the post-World War II order, shaped in part by the United States and based on multilateralism and the balancing of interests. When the UN was founded in 1945, its goal was to prevent wars. Its mandate later expanded to include countless other areas, such as global health, development and climate protection.
Today, more than 80 years later, the UN's institutions, above all the Security Council, are widely considered to be in need of an overhaul, much like the UN headquarters itself.
Has Trump exposed the UN's shortcomings to the world — or is he largely responsible for their destruction?Image: Kylie Cooper/REUTERS
