Told the UN That Windmills Are "Pathetic" and Carbon Footprints Are "a Hoax"
At the UN General Assembly, Trump dismissed wind energy as "pathetic," called carbon footprints "a hoax," and warned nations that failing to abandon the "green energy scam" would cause national failure — while the rest of the world accelerates the renewable transition.
On September 23, 2025, Trump addressed the UN General Assembly's 80th session and used the global stage to attack renewable energy and climate science. He described windmills as "pathetic," dismissed carbon footprints as "a hoax," and warned assembled world leaders that failing to abandon the "green energy scam" would cause their nations to fail.
This was said to representatives of 193 nations, the vast majority of which are actively accelerating their renewable energy transitions. Global renewable energy investment hit $1.8 trillion in 2024, outpacing fossil fuel investment for the first time. China alone installed more solar capacity in 2024 than the entire world had the previous year.
Trump also used the speech to:
- Claim he ended "seven unendable wars" in seven months
- Assert Iran's nuclear enrichment was "completely demolished" — contradicted by intelligence assessments
- Accuse NATO allies of hypocrisy for buying Russian energy while fighting Russia
- Dismiss the UN as writing "strongly worded letters" with no follow-up — "empty words"
- Criticize the UN headquarters renovation (estimated at $2-4 billion), claiming he offered to rebuild it for $500 million
The speech captured Trump's approach to international diplomacy in miniature: insult the audience, deny scientific consensus, exaggerate accomplishments, and threaten economic retaliation against anyone who disagrees. In 2018, the same General Assembly had laughed at him. By 2025, they had largely stopped listening.