The President of the Republic spoke to journalists in the gardens of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York after delivering a speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on the first day of the annual general debate among world leaders.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa noted that Donald Trump, during his meeting today with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, expressed support for the organization and did not announce further financial cuts, despite the criticisms he made in the morning at the General Assembly.
For the head of state, this “means that one thing is the speech” of the American President, “but that has always been the case, in the first term and the second term, he has a speech for the electorate, internal and external, which is a very radical speech,” and “another thing is the practice.”
In other words, “one thing is the face value of what he says, another thing is the practice of what he does,” he reinforced.
Asked about his reunion with Donald Trump today at the end of the day during the usual reception offered by the President of the United States of America to the heads of delegations participating in the UN General Assembly, he replied: “I will see how he reacts, maybe he’ll ask me for my opinion.”
“And, in that case, I will say that he remains true to himself, being, in fact, from a proclamation standpoint, very televisual, which is very much his showbiz experience. Then, from a practical point of view, the reality is more complicated and implies, even with regard to the United Nations, being more lenient,” he added.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that this happens because Donald Trump “knows that resolving conflicts is not as simple as it seems in a declarative proclamation” and “he has the exact notion that he doesn’t have enough weight to resolve great conflicts alone.”
“I think the American President was very forceful in his vocal position because it has much effect, mobilizing electorates of the same line, for example, in European countries, besides the United States of America. It’s a wave,” he commented.
The head of state reinforced his criticism of Trump regarding conflict resolution, saying that “he did not resolve Ukraine nor the Middle East, which are the most important” and that “they are being addressed, in some way, through the initiative of various countries.”
In his opinion, “the recognition of the State of Palestine, by itself, but for what it represented,” is marking this session of the UN General Assembly, which “was massively on one side” on this issue, and “President Trump perceived this.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considered that “a G3 is emerging” in which “the United States prefers to deal with Russia and China, although with apparent divergences,” while “China and Russia agree among themselves and then have to dialogue with the United States.”
But, in his analysis, “they do not escape a reality, which is the weight of the General Assembly,” and this body, which brings together all 193 member states of the organization, can become more important “if the Security Council continues blocked because of vetoes.”
The President of the Republic pointed out that “there are other countries with weight, India, Brazil, Japan, the large Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, or Muslim, Indonesia, which are not entirely aligned.”
“Therefore, a change is being witnessed in the world, but also a change in the functioning of the United Nations, which will have to do with the future Secretary-General,” he predicted.
Regarding the succession of Guterres, starting from 2027, he said the process is now “more complex,” and “the German president of the General Assembly will have a more active role.”
