Abstract: Trump has repeatedly utilized international forums, such as the UN, as stages for provocation rather than diplomacy. This year’s speech, his first since the U.S. went to war with Iran, continued a pattern of escalation, from telling European leaders their countries were “going to hell” in 2025 to threatening to “annihilate” Iran in 2026. World leaders have responded by refusing to cooperate and reducing reliance on the United States, representing a loss of trust in American leadership. A president who has lost the faith of his allies cannot build the coalitions that successful foreign policy depends on.
While President Trump’s incendiary rhetoric feels unsettlingly common in contemporary politics, his recent UN address was a stark reminder of what that discourse has cost in diplomacy. For the fifth time, Trump stood before the General Assembly, this time with the United States seven months into a war with Iran.1 He told the world he must either make a deal or “annihilate the Islamic Republic.”2 However, in the same speech, he called on “all nations to join us” and promised that “if we stand united,” Iran’s threat would soon be gone.3 How can Trump expect a coalition of nations while pleading for their help and provoking them in the same breath?
If Trump wants to make serious strides in diplomacy with Iran, he must first change his approach. International relations are contingent on leverage, and Trump’s goal of the “complete economic isolation of Iran” is only plausible if allies agree to enforce it.4 Recent events suggest that international allies are unlikely to support the United States and are losing faith in hegemonic dependence, which refers to the reliance of smaller nations on a dominant power for security, economic stability, and political influence. As this dependence diminishes, allies may seek independent paths or reliance on a new hegemon. Early signs of this shift have been visible in recent geopolitical developments in Iran. For example, when Trump asked NATO members to help secure the Strait of Hormuz in March, most declined, and EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, explained that Europe’s main concern about the war was that “[they] were not consulted” before the war began.5 Spain and Italy went further than the EU, refusing additional assistance and restricting the United States access to airspace tied to the conflict.6 The self-inflicted rift between the US and its allies was on full display one day after Trump’s address, when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez used the same UN stage to declare Spain’s opposition to the war.7 This situation can be further understood through Robert Putnam’s theory of two-level games. According to Putnam, leaders must negotiate abroad while remaining accountable to their domestic constituencies.8 In this context, Trump’s provocative rhetoric has made it politically risky for allied nations to align with Washington, complicating diplomatic relations.9
Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric has not only strained global relations, but it has significantly impacted America’s relationships with its neighboring countries as well. In Canada, the share of people who describe the U.S. as a “reliable partner” fell from 83 percent in 2022 to just 35 percent in 2026.10 That distrust stems from Trump’s repeated talk of absorbing Canada as the “51st state,” making cooperation with Washington a liability.11 Allied nation leaders are quietly following their voters and reducing their reliance on the United States. The United Kingdom and Canada, two of America’s closest intelligence partners, have reportedly limited the information they share over concerns about the legality of U.S. strikes abroad,12 and Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s defense-loan program.13 Every partner that steps back leaves Trump with less leverage over Iran and only continues to prolong this seeming war of attrition.
Trump closed his address by promising the General Assembly that “together, through bold action, we will make this world far safer.”14 It is a goal his allies definitely share, but unity cannot be demanded from a place of hypocrisy, where the United States infuriates other nations in the hope of peace. Until Trump trades provocation for diplomacy, the coalition he needs to end the war with Iran will remain out of reach. The consequences of this diplomatic strategy are directly affecting Americans, who have paid, and will continue to pay, for it at home. Gas prices are about $1.50 higher than before the conflict began, with this trend likely to escalate further.15 As the cost of living continues to rise on the back of military enterprise, Americans can only hope that decorum re-enters the diplomatic sphere.
- PolitiFact Staff, “Live Fact-Check: President Donald Trump Speaks to UN General Assembly in New York,” PolitiFact, September 22, 2026, https://politifact.com/article/2026/sep/22/trump-un-speech-live-fact-check/.
↩︎ - Donald J. Trump, “Address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly” (speech, New York, September 22, 2026), United Nations, https://gadebate.un.org/en/81/united-states-america.
↩︎ - Donald J. Trump, “Address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly” (speech, New York, September 22, 2026), United Nations, https://gadebate.un.org/en/81/united-states-america.
↩︎ - Donald J. Trump, “Address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly” (speech, New York, September 22, 2026), United Nations, https://gadebate.un.org/en/81/united-states-america.
↩︎ - Franco Ordoñez, “Trump Lashes Out at NATO After Countries Decline to Help in Iran,” NPR, March 17, 2026, https://www.npr.org/2026/03/17/nx-s1-5750596/trump-lashes-out-at-nato-after-countries-decline-to-help-in-iran.
↩︎ - Suman Naishadham, “Spain Closes Off Its Airspace to US Planes Involved in the Iran War,” AP News, March 30, 2026, https://apnews.com/article/trump-spain-united-states-iran-war-05e23ef4e0bda9cb226a16b10cd9437c.
↩︎ - Pedro Sánchez, “Address by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, to the United Nations General Assembly” (speech, New York, September 23, 2026), La Moncloa, https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/presidente/intervenciones/Paginas/2026/20260923-un-general-assembly-speech.aspx. ↩︎
- Robert D. Putnam, “Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games,” International Organization 42, no. 3 (1988): 427–60.
↩︎ - Olivier Knox, “European Allies Tell Trump ‘No’ to Iran War: Why It Matters,” U.S. News & World Report, April 1, 2026, https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2026-04-01/european-allies-tell-trump-no-to-iran-war-why-it-matters.
↩︎ - Luke Fountain,”Trump Faces Xi as Strains with Allies Complicate U.S. Pressure on China,” CNBC, September 23, 2026, https://cnbc.com/2026/09/23/trump-xi-china-summit-allies.html.
↩︎ - Robert D. Putnam, “Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games,” International Organization 42, no. 3 (1988): 427–60.
↩︎ - Tressa Guenov, “By Alienating Its Intelligence Partners, the US Risks Losing More Than Trust,” Atlantic Council, March 2026, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/by-alienating-its-intelligence-partners-the-us-risks-losing-more-than-trust/.
↩︎ - Lionel Laurent, “Canada and Europe Are Building a Hedge Against America,” Bloomberg Opinion, September 11, 2026, https://bworldonline.com/bloomberg/2026/09/11/776027/canada-and-europe-are-building-a-hedge-against-america/.
↩︎ - Donald J. Trump, “Address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly” (speech, New York, September 22, 2026), United Nations, https://gadebate.un.org/en/81/united-states-america.
↩︎ - Angi Gonzalez, “As U.S.-Iran War Hits 7-Month Mark, Rising Gas and Airfare Costs Squeeze Americans’ Wallets,” Spectrum News, September 28, 2026, https://spectrumlocalnews.com/us/snplus/international/2026/09/28/u-s–iran-war-7-months-gas-airfare-costs.
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