Roving Periscope: At the UNGA, Trump fires left, right, and centre—then wants seven Nobel Peace Prizes!

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Playing back worn-out claims to his Republican constituency ahead of the 2026 elections to US Congress, President Donald Trump accused one and all—except himself, whom he praised!—took credit for what he called ending seven wars in seven months across the planet, and sought a Nobel Peace Prize for each of them.

In a rambling, hour-long speech, as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, he did not just blame China, Russia, or India for not toeing his line, and threatened more tariffs, he also attacked his own NATO allies and even the UN he spoke at.

Once again, he held India and China responsible for financing Russia’s war in Ukraine and reiterated his claim of ‘stopping’ the May conflict between India and Pakistan. This was the first occasion when he targeted India at the UNGA.

“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump said while also emphasising his “stopping seven wars in seven months” claim.

His remarks are being viewed as a pressure tactic against India to sign on his dotted lines on trade and tariffs. His comments came amid ongoing negotiations between the two countries on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

Trump’s move to impose a 25 percent reciprocal tariff from August 7 and an additional 25 percent levy from August 27, in response to India’s ongoing Russian oil imports, strained bilateral ties, after both sides failed to reach an interim trade deal.

He said he had expected the Ukraine conflict to be the easiest to resolve, citing his “good” relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Of the seven wars that I stopped, I thought that it would be the easiest because of my relationship with President Putin, which has always been a good one,” he said, adding, “It should have taken a matter of days, certainly less than a week. But they have been fighting for three-and-a-half years.”

The US President also criticised European nations for continuing to purchase Russian energy. “They have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time,” he said. “The only question now is how many more lives would be needlessly lost on both sides. China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” he said, adding that even NATO countries “have not cut off Russian energy products.”

Trump threatened another round of tariffs to end the Ukraine conflict swiftly. “To end the war, the US is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs which would stop the bloodshed very quickly,” he said.

Reiterating his claim of ending multiple conflicts, Trump said, “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements.” “I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalising the deal,” he said.

Mocking the NATO allies, he questioned why they had not halted purchases of Russian oil. He also attacked Western countries for “double standards” on emissions and immigration, describing them as a “double-tailed monster.”

Trump also sharply criticised the UN for what it claimed was its “inaction,” saying it was filled with “empty words” that “don’t solve wars.” He also questioned the purpose of the UN and said that even though it has great potential, “it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”

Early in his speech, he claimed that the two things he received from the UN were a malfunctioning teleprompter and a broken escalator, referring to an earlier incident when the escalator abruptly stopped as he and Melania entered the UN.

Then, Trump also assured that the US remained “100%” supportive of the global body. Again, he lambasted the UN for “funding an assault” on Western nations, before turning his fire on his supposed allies in Europe. “Your countries are going to hell,” he told European leaders.