Was Donald Trump's Big Speech to the United Nations a Success?

President Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly was a bit of a hodge-podge. At times, it sounded as if it were a message to Americans that Trump would be defending them and their interests even if (and especially when) those interests contradicted the conventions of the world. (His Reaganesque line about socialism failing Venezuela because it has been “faithfully implemented” caused a titter among some of the gathered leaders, which Trump seemed to appreciate.)

At other times, he directed strong messages to bad actors in the world like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. “If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph,” he said.

And at other times, Trump sounded a message of unity and global purpose.

“We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all,” he said at the end of his speech. “Thank you, God bless you, God bless the nations of the world, and God bless the United States of America.”

It was a message that sounded a tad incongruous next to his exhortations for nations to seek their own interests above all, but Trump’s goal was to thread this needle: to argue for the sovereignty of nation-states, which he called the “best vehicle for elevating the human condition” while also arguing that doing so would achieve peace and prosperity throughout the world.