Every generation produces its share of strongmen, liars, and charlatans. But rarely does one nation elevate such a specimen to its highest office and then allow him to strut across the world stage unchecked. Donald Trump is that specimen. His latest performance at the United Nations General Assembly was less a statesman’s address and more a circus act—except the stakes are global peace and credibility, not applause from a partisan crowd. At the UNGA, Trump repeated his favourite party trick: lie, boast, and hope repetition turns fiction into fact. This time, he claimed he had “ended” seven global wars in the last year. Yes, seven. One might forgive such hyperbole if he had been speaking at a campaign rally in rural America. But at the world’s highest diplomatic forum? That’s not just irresponsible—it’s dangerous. Let us examine his “victories.” The Russia–Ukraine war rages on with devastating ferocity. Israel remains in perpetual conflict over Gaza, unmoved by any miracle diplomacy Trump thinks he performed. In South Asia, India humiliated Pakistan after Pahalgam, smashing terror networks and military bases. Only after four days of punishment did Islamabad beg for a ceasefire. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bluntly told Trump before and after: India will not tolerate mediation on Pakistan, not from Washington, not from anyone. Three wars later, Pakistan continues with its proxy terrorism, and India has warned that any future attack will be treated as a full-scale war. That, Mr. Trump, is not “peace.” And yet, he waves around claims of ending wars like a clown juggling invisible balls. Uganda? Really? Even his examples sounded like they were plucked from a dartboard. If this is diplomacy, then North Korea is a democracy. The truth is simpler: no conflicts have been resolved, no peace has been brokered. The only war Trump has won is against the truth. His hypocrisy is equally breathtaking. From the UNGA podium, he accused India and China of funding Russia’s war effort by buying discounted oil. Conveniently missing from his sermon was America’s own dependence on Russian minerals—nearly 20 percent of certain critical imports still come from Moscow. Apparently, when Washington does it, it’s a strategy; when others do it, it’s a betrayal. If hypocrisy were an Olympic sport, Trump would take the gold.
To India’s credit, Prime Minister Modi wisely skipped this UNGA session, sparing the forum from further theatrics. Instead, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a dignified and pointed address. Without mentioning Trump, he made it clear: the Global South will not be bullied by lies or manipulated by Western double standards. He called for reform, solidarity, and multilateralism—an understated yet stinging rebuttal. Many saw it for what it was: a slap, delivered with a diplomat’s glove. Trump’s tone with UN Secretary-General António Guterres only exposed his insecurity further. Alternating between arrogance and pleading, he suggested U.S. funding somehow entitles him to dictate UN policy. The truth is the opposite: America needs the UN’s legitimacy more than the UN needs America’s chequebook. Meanwhile, his bluster has achieved something remarkable: pushing rivals closer together. China openly declared its willingness to work more closely with India and Russia, united against American hegemony. By trying to intimidate them, Trump has done what decades of diplomacy could not—forge a reluctant but growing partnership between Asia’s giants. The “deal-maker” has become the great unifier—for America’s adversaries. And so, the United States finds itself humiliated by its own leader. Once the beacon of democracy and credibility, America is now represented by a man who treats the world’s gravest challenges as fodder for self-aggrandizing speeches. Trump is not just a global embarrassment. He is a liability. His lies do not vanish into the air; they corrode alliances, embolden adversaries, and drag the United States further into isolation. The world has seen madmen before—Mussolini with his struts, Hitler with his rants. Trump is their modern parody: less intelligent, equally dangerous, and armed not with ideology but with narcissism. The difference is that Hitler destroyed Germany. Trump, if allowed, could drag down the entire liberal order America once built. The real question is not how many more lies Trump will tell. That is guaranteed. The question is how long the American people will indulge a president who has turned the world’s most powerful democracy into the world’s loudest joke.
