UNGA 81 Channeling Howard Beale. Themes: International Law, Sovereignty, “V” As In Christian V Jew V Muslim, Muslim V Muslim, Jew V Jew, Democrat V Democrat, And Republican V Republican
Normally, UNGA Boring… Not This Year
Does Not Mean UNGA 81 Will Accomplish Anything, But Will Be Entertaining
Themes UNGA 81 Include International Law, Sovereignty, “V” As In Versus
UNGA 81 A Showcase For Christian V Jew V Muslim, Muslim V Muslim, Jew V Jew, Democrat V Democrat, And Republican V Republican
In 1976 motion picture, Network, during a live broadcast, Howard Beale, the nightly news anchor, implores his audience “I want you to get up right now. Sit up. Go to your windows. Open them and stick your head out and yell- ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!””
Donald Trump, President of the United States (2017-2021 and 2025-2029), will again channel Mr. Beale during remarks at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) General Debate commencing 22 September 2026.
For President Trump, his personalized annual Festivus (airing of grievances), this being his seventh spanning two terms in office, is terrifying to other governments because President Trump can and has made decisions to not take whatever it may be anymore. He can self-assuage.
During UNGA 81, many of the speakers will want to reprise the words of Mr. Beale with a singular target audience- President Trump.
They won’t, however, as they remain too fearful of the response from President Trump. Some speakers may gingerly wade near. Who to watch? Cuba, France, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela.
President Trump Has 852 Days Remaining In His Term From Date Of UNGA 81 Remarks
UNGA 81 Will Serve Up Reruns, Set Up Grievances, And Provide Opportunity To Project Results Of Political Version Of Testosterone Replacement Treatment (TRT)
Burnham v Netanyahu
Burnham v Trump
Erdogan v Mitsotakis
Erdogan v Netanyahu
Netanyahu v Syria
Rodriguez B v US
Rodriguez D v US
Zelensky v Russia
Zelensky v EU
Zelensky v NATO
Zelensky v UN
Zelensky v US
Speakers Want To Condemn President Trump For Decisions Which Have Increased Global Energy Product Costs- But Scared Because He Will Retaliate Against Them
President Trump Will Air Grievances- Remind Everyone That United Nations Is Useless Unless Guided By And Subservient To The United States. He Will Remind About Issues In 2025 With Escalator And Teleprompter
President Trump’s Next Diplomatic Focuses: Northern Ireland Reunification With Ireland; Argentina Reclaiming Falkland Islands From United Kingdom; Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus Reunifying With Republic Of Cyprus; Israel Returns Golan Heights To Syria; Cuba Capitulation; Venezuela Capitulation
How To Define Rudeness? Watch The Clock
September Festivus- Annual Airing Of Grievances
First Speaker Believes Second Speaker Is Undisciplined Global Menace. Second Speaker Supported Predecessor Of First Speaker. Son Of Predecessor Seeking To Replace First Speaker
For Diplomats, Persona Non Grata From Israel Becoming Campaign And Political Status Symbol Better Than From China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia
Will Issue Of Global Increase In Energy Costs Replace Issues Of Gaza And Ukraine?
Blaming United States And Israel? Less Consequences To Blame Israel
Supporting United Kingdom Sanctions On Illegal Settlements In Palestine: Three Members Of The G7 And Eight Members Of The EU
Will European Union Permit Canada To Join Schengen Area?
Carney Making A Mistake- And Disrespecting United Nations. WEF Worth A Speech; Not UNGA 81
Speakers may want to yell at President Trump. They know he will yell at them in response. His yell can and will be augmented by decisions- duties, sanctions, tariffs, and visa restrictions.
President Trump weaponizes virtue. A head of state or head of government may want to help, but fear of retribution from The White House is a political brake- and usually the more effective decision is press hard once rather than risk pumping.
Speakers will be cognizant of and giddy that President Trump will have 852 days remaining in his term from the date of his UNGA 81 remarks.
But, for President Trump and those in the audience, UNGA 81 is demonstrably different than UNGA 80.
Thus far in 2026, the Trump-Vance Administration (2025-2029) has abducted, removed, and then imprisoned a sitting head of state (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela); implemented coercive and debilitating commercial, economic, and financial sanctions upon the Republic of Cuba; partnered with the State of Israel to commence a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran; and secured revisions to a usage agreement for Greenland with the Kingdom of Denmark.
For President Trump, 2026 has been thus far the political version of a four-run-earning grand slam.
Exhibition of moral outrage even when justified righteously has costs, particularly during the Trump-Vance Administration. What one head of state or head of government or monarch deems to be wrong in Washington DC from the perspective of those they represent may collide with potential responsibility for damage by Washington DC to those they represent. Thus, conscience, morals, and values become commoditized.
Some of the country-to-country dynamics defining bilateral and multilateral relationships? Cyprus (EU) fears Turkiye (NATO). Greece (EU, NATO) fears Turkiye (NATO). United Kingdom (NATO) and Ireland (EU) have unresolved issue of Northern Ireland. Argentina wants the United Kingdom to return the Falkland Islands. The Brussels, Belgium-based twenty-seven-country European Union (EU) membership continues to fracture- and expansion of EU will ensure new fissures and fractures, along with deepening existing fissures and fractures. Estonia (EU, NATO), Latvia (EU, NATO), and Lithuania (EU, NATO) fear the Russian Federation. EU member budgets and thirty-two-country Brussels, Belgium-based North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) budgets are increasing annual deficits and respective national debt and the members with the larger Gross Domestic Product (GDP) want the EU to spend less while political leadership in Brussels wants not only more funding, but more power of members.
EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
NATO: United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain, Turkiye, Latvia, and North Macedonia, Sweden.
Twenty-three members of NATO are also members of the EU: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
UNGA 81 General Debate commences at 9:00 am on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, with an address by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil (2003-2011 and 2023- ), and concludes in the afternoon on Monday, 28 September 2026, with an address by a representative of the Diplomatic Corps of New Zealand. President Trump speaks after President Lula.
During six days, not including Sunday, heads of state, heads of government, monarchs, vice presidents, ministers of foreign affairs, ministers, and others from the 193-members (and Holy See and State of Palestine) will use and mostly abuse their allocated fifteen (15) minutes to focus upon one message- they and the country, nation, state they represent are relevant.
For most speakers, trampling through the fifteen-minute guideline is an example to everyone else of a speaker’s level of Political Testosterone Replacement Treatment (TRT). Is anyone going to stride to the podium and disable the microphone? Pontificating past the fifteen-minute guideline is the ultimate signal that “I am more important than you and you can’t do anything about it.”
Simultaneously, the decision is disrespectful far past any symbolic Political Richter Scale measurement. There is a solution- scrap the fifteen-minute guideline and let the audience determine the acceptable length for each speaker by whether they show up, remain, or stand up and depart as the speaker speaks.
For some speakers, the annual opportunity to visit New York City permits one-stop-shopping for ambushes, bilaterals, conversations, discussions, meetings, on-the-sidelines, pull-asides, and walks-and-talks.
The UNGA is traditionally defined not by what was accomplished, but by what was said and to whom it was directed. There is increasing use of theatrical props- drawings, images, and maps. Will the UNGA inaugurate by speakers the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Already known are two points President Trump will share with his audience- the status of the escalator where in 2025 he had issues (or it had issues with him) and the status of the teleprompter which in 2025 had operational issues. NOTE: In July 2026, the longtime teleprompter operator was found to have used prediction marketplace Kalshi to wager on what President Trump would use in remarks. The White House terminated him.
President Trump will also reiterate, to the exhaustive exasperation of those in the audience, that the United States is the “hottest country in the world” and, by definition, their countries are not- and more importantly, a reason their countries are cooling is because the hottest companies in their countries are coming to the United States. This is not a story where rising water lifts all boats. This is a story where one country continues to take more of the water from everyone else.
NOTE: President Trump supported President Lula’s predecessor and supports President Lula’s opponent in the 4/5 October 2026 presidential election. That opponent is a son of President Lula’s predecessor. A political version of “can’t make this up” politics.
Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada (2025- ), will visit New York City, but not address the UNGA. Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will deliver remarks in the early evening of 26 September 2026. Given the role that Prime Minister Carney has envisioned for Canada, given the issues with President Trump, given the interest by Canada in connectivity with the EU, a mistake for him to forgo a timely opportunity to continue to share his vision. What might EU connectivity resemble? Inclusion of Canada within a modified version of the 1985 Schengen Agreement which currently includes non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The Schengen Agreement provides expanded inter-travel connectivity, particularly a common visa policy.
In January 2025, Prime Minister Carney delivered remarks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where three of his messages were: “If we're not at the table, we're on the menu.”; “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”; and “Compliance will not buy safety.” At UNGA 81, Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will address global leaders on the government’s behalf from the green marble podium.
Two heads of state who should be attending UNGA 81 will not. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (2000-2008 and 2012-2030), and Alexander Lukashenko, President of Republic of Belarus (1994-2030).
While there are no legal impediments to President Putin visiting the United States to participate in UNGA 81, quite likely would have been a large-scale animative and performative walk-out as he commenced remarks. There was an expectation for President Lukashenko to have participated in UNGA 80 in 2025, but he did not. Given his engagement with the Trump-Vance Administration, there would seem both political alignment and political moment for him to participate in UNGA 81.
A beneficiary of appearances by either President Putin or President Lukasehnko would be Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019-2024; term extended due to imposition of martial law in 2022), who will attend UNGA 81. President Lukashenko has offered to meet with President Zelensky.
President Zelensky defines omnipresent with not a funeral, inaugural, or wedding he will not seek to attend- invited or not. He is an Uber Party Crasher.
Twelve years after the armed forces of the Russian Federation first invaded the internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine and five years after the armed forces of the Russian Federation expanded their footprint within the internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine to the current approximately 19%, President Zelensky finds increasing distance and resistance from empathy and sympathy for the citizens of Ukraine. A trajectory towards US$500 billion in support from governments (taxpayers), international financial institutions, including members of the EU and NATO is not enough- and President Zelensky is currently seeking approximately US$1.2 billion from each member of the EU. The government of Ukraine will seek at least US$70 billion in third-party support for each of the next two years- 2027 and 2028.
That’s US$140 billion with no guarantee the Russian Federation-Ukraine War will end its military component and no guarantee about what percentage of the currently-occupied 19% of the internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine will be returned to the control of the government of Ukraine. He continues to demand EU membership and NATO membership- and with each demand the distance to those memberships become greater. The endemic and pandemic of corruption within the public sectors in Ukraine and private sectors in Ukraine, which flourished prior to both 2014 and 2022, further complicate his noble mission.
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine (2005- ) and Palestinian National Authority (2003- ), will again not be participating in UNGA 81 because the Trump-Vance Administration refuses to provide him with a visa to enter the United States. This decision is rooted in ignorance of opportunity rather than anticipatory diplomacy. Why would not The White House salivate at the prospect to an encounter by President Trump with President Abbas resulting in a “Full Zelensky” mimicking the encounter in 2025 by President Trump and President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
A visit by President Abbas would also serve to increase the stature among those in Muslim majority nations for Steven Witkoff, Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor, and Special Envoy (2025- ) of the Trump-Vance Administration (2025-2029), and Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of President Trump.
Ponder the prospect of President Trump attending a meeting or hosting a meeting with President Abbas and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye (2014-2028). On 22 September 2026, President Erdogan follows Abdullah II, King of Jordan (1999- ), who follows President Trump.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India (2014- ), has completed hosting the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in the capital Delhi. The government of Turkiye wants to be a member of the eleven-country BRICS. Reportedly, Prime Minister Modi has reservations. Interesting political juxtaposition given President Erdogan during the 2023 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi publicly endorsed that India be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel (2022- , 2009-2021, 1996-1999), will attend the UNGA, delivering his remarks on 24 September 2026- the twentieth speaker and last prior to the afternoon session commencing at 3:00 pm. His appearance will have one guaranteed result- a walk-out by members of the audience. The focus will be on not only how many delegations remain for his remarks, but the composition of those delegations remaining for his remarks- Head of State, Head of Government, Ambassador, UN Ambassador, Deputy UN Ambassador, Foreign Minister, etc.
If there is a political skunk at UNGA 81, Prime Minister Netanyahu will be wearing the costume. His primary message will be, as in previous years, that the State of Israel is doing the “dirty work” on behalf of everyone else- and by everyone else he points at countries with Muslim majorities.
