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In UN address, Trump says China "unleashed this plague onto the world"

22 September 2020
 Dan Ackermann

President Trump used a virtual address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to defend his response to the coronavirus and call on other countries to “hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China.”

Setting the scene: Trump ticked through four years of major decisions and accomplishments in what could be his last address to the UN. But first, he launched into a fierce attack on China as Beijing’s representative looked on in the assembly hall.

Breaking it down: There were two main themes to Trump’s speech.

  1. On his watch, America and its military have become more powerful than ever — but he is using that strength to promote peace.
  2. China is taking advantage of other countries and bodies like the World Health Organization — and has been getting away with it.

Excerpts:

  • "We are once again engaged in a great global struggle. We have waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy, the China virus.”
  • Citing a pending troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the recent White House gathering between Serbia and Kosovo, and the newly sealed Israel recognition deals, Trump declared: "America is fulfilling our destiny as peacemaker."
  • Trump said the U.S. was developing weapons no previous administration had even considered, and said America had "the most powerful military anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close.”
  • Trump's bottom line: “I am putting America first just as you should be putting your countries first. That’s ok, that’s what you should be doing.”

Between the lines: Many leaders who will be speaking this week have been frustrated by Trump's unwillingness to join a global initiative on vaccine distribution, his announced withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and his unilateral attempt to reimpose sanctions on Iran even after leaving the 2015 nuclear deal.

  • The direction of travel for the UN over the next few years will be decided, in large part, by the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

What to watch: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech will follow shortly behind Trump’s. In it, Xi is expected to laud multilateral cooperation and China’s central role in it.

Go deeper:What to watch this week at UNGA.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.