SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
'Genocidal' Trump Blasted for Threatening to 'Totally Destroy North Korea'
"Reminder," says one critic of president's speech to UN General Assembly: "threatening to kill 25 million North Koreans because you don't like their leader is threatening to commit genocide."
Sep 19, 2017
For what he said--and also for what he refused to mention--President Donald Trump was lampooned by progressive critics as he delivered his first ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday morning.
"It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
While castigating Iran and Venezuela as failed and destabilizing regimes and threatening to "totally destroy North Korea" if he thinks necessary, Trump acknowledged nothing about the misery sowed by U.S. foreign policy around the world.
For many critics, Trump's war-mongering and bellicosity--though a bone to his domestic right-wing base--are enormously counter-productive in terms of reducing global threats and geopolitical tensions. As Vox reporter Matt Yglesias put it, "If you want to know why [North Korea] wants a nuclear deterrent, just read Trump's speech."
In a joint statement following Trump's speech, MoveOn.org, CREDO Action, and Win Without War blasted the remarks:
Donald Trump's first speech to the United Nations General Assembly today - and in particular, his remarks about North Korea - was nothing short of a complete failure of American leadership. Instead of focusing on efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis surrounding its nuclear program, Trump threatened to "totally destroy North Korea."
It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
"The choice is clear," the groups concluded, "either we let Trump's incompetence and bellicosity drive us into a destructive conflict potentially more devastating than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, or we can focus our efforts on negotiation. The United States and its allies and partners must immediately move toward easing tensions on the Korean peninsula diplomatically, and work toward ending this conflict peacefully. The fate of the region and the world depend on it."
On social media, the president's critics were swift with their appraisals and condemnation:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
For what he said--and also for what he refused to mention--President Donald Trump was lampooned by progressive critics as he delivered his first ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday morning.
"It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
While castigating Iran and Venezuela as failed and destabilizing regimes and threatening to "totally destroy North Korea" if he thinks necessary, Trump acknowledged nothing about the misery sowed by U.S. foreign policy around the world.
For many critics, Trump's war-mongering and bellicosity--though a bone to his domestic right-wing base--are enormously counter-productive in terms of reducing global threats and geopolitical tensions. As Vox reporter Matt Yglesias put it, "If you want to know why [North Korea] wants a nuclear deterrent, just read Trump's speech."
In a joint statement following Trump's speech, MoveOn.org, CREDO Action, and Win Without War blasted the remarks:
Donald Trump's first speech to the United Nations General Assembly today - and in particular, his remarks about North Korea - was nothing short of a complete failure of American leadership. Instead of focusing on efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis surrounding its nuclear program, Trump threatened to "totally destroy North Korea."
It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
"The choice is clear," the groups concluded, "either we let Trump's incompetence and bellicosity drive us into a destructive conflict potentially more devastating than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, or we can focus our efforts on negotiation. The United States and its allies and partners must immediately move toward easing tensions on the Korean peninsula diplomatically, and work toward ending this conflict peacefully. The fate of the region and the world depend on it."
On social media, the president's critics were swift with their appraisals and condemnation:
For what he said--and also for what he refused to mention--President Donald Trump was lampooned by progressive critics as he delivered his first ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday morning.
"It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
While castigating Iran and Venezuela as failed and destabilizing regimes and threatening to "totally destroy North Korea" if he thinks necessary, Trump acknowledged nothing about the misery sowed by U.S. foreign policy around the world.
For many critics, Trump's war-mongering and bellicosity--though a bone to his domestic right-wing base--are enormously counter-productive in terms of reducing global threats and geopolitical tensions. As Vox reporter Matt Yglesias put it, "If you want to know why [North Korea] wants a nuclear deterrent, just read Trump's speech."
In a joint statement following Trump's speech, MoveOn.org, CREDO Action, and Win Without War blasted the remarks:
Donald Trump's first speech to the United Nations General Assembly today - and in particular, his remarks about North Korea - was nothing short of a complete failure of American leadership. Instead of focusing on efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis surrounding its nuclear program, Trump threatened to "totally destroy North Korea."
It's time for this charade to end: We need to stop this slow roll toward a catastrophic war, and work towards defusing the North Korean crisis diplomatically. Trump's U.N. speech represents yet another reckless escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between North Korea and the United States that does nothing but edge us closer to nuclear war.
"The choice is clear," the groups concluded, "either we let Trump's incompetence and bellicosity drive us into a destructive conflict potentially more devastating than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, or we can focus our efforts on negotiation. The United States and its allies and partners must immediately move toward easing tensions on the Korean peninsula diplomatically, and work toward ending this conflict peacefully. The fate of the region and the world depend on it."
On social media, the president's critics were swift with their appraisals and condemnation:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.