President Donald Trump on Tuesday focused on a wide range of threats the U.S. faces from abroad during a frequently boastful address to the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan.
Trump, in a roughly 37-minute speech, also directly criticized the U.N. itself, and reaffirmed his view that the U.S. artificial intelligence industry should continue its rapid growth with few restraints or guardrails.
Trump defended his decision to launch a war against Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic of seeking to erect a defensive missile arsenal before making a “mad dash to a nuclear bomb.”
As the war approaches its eighth month with no clear end in sight, Trump said he is poised to make a “big decision” on whether to make a deal or quickly “annihilate” the country.
He then predicted once again that a deal will be made “right after” the Nov. 3 midterm elections, claiming “it doesn’t make sense for them not to.”
“They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election,” he said. “What they don’t realize is that I’m not running.”
“I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
He also touted a military deal with Greenland and Denmark, saying it gives the U.S. “the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent, and also Europe and other places.” That agreement was signed at a trilateral meeting later Tuesday morning.
Trump called Cuba an “absolutely failed state” and accused it of “coordinating with left-wing radicals and Communist networks” in the U.S.
“Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to Cuba,” Trump told the assembled leaders. He said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in negotiations with the island nation.
As he spoke, the Cuban delegation stood up and left the hall. The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said, pointing to his administration’s intervention in Venezuela this year as proof.
“And if necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States,” he said.
Toward the end of the speech, Trump turned to AI — first by debuting his attempt to rebrand it “super intelligence” and also whipsawing on the U.S. government’s role in putting guardrails on the technology.
The president then compared those raising concerns about AI — a group that includes some tech leaders — with those warning about climate change, which Trump also denies is a problem.
“These are the same people that are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster,” Trump said.
He reiterated his view that winning the race for AI superiority is the key to U.S. global dominance.
“That’s the group that wins, and we’re leading now over China by a lot, and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way,” he said. “We’re going to keep it very, very straight and very strong. I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution.”
The government will “rein things in” if needed and will lead the sector “safely and responsibly,” Trump said.
But he also said, “We will only encourage superintelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in.”
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