By Hannah Lynn, World News Editor
With the 2024 presidential election season in full swing, many people have finalized their decision on whom they feel would be the best president for the United States, and this decision is not just limited to citizens; even international organizations, such as the United Nations (U.N.), express interest.
Throughout former President Donald Trump’s presidential term and the 2016 election cycle, he offered some criticism of the international organization – the U.N. – according to the Trump White House archives.
Trump said, “The United States, just one of 193 countries in the U.N., pays for 22 percent of the budget and almost 30 percent of the United Nations peacekeeping, which is unfair.” Along with commenting, “I also want to say to you that I have long felt the United Nations is an underperformer but has tremendous potential. There are those people that think it’s an underperformer and will never perform.”
Recently, the U.N. has come under fire for comments made by Associate Legal Officer Jorge Paoletti – U.N. Office of Legal Affairs – regarding former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.
This information became public through a video by conservative political commentator Steven Crowder, on his show Louder with Crowder. This discovery originated from a branch of his channel called Mug Club Undercover Unit.
According to LouderWithCrowder, these comments by Paoletti include: “One of the main enemies [of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement]are what they call the globalists. I’m the definition of a globalist…I’m not sure the United Nations as an institution is going to survive a second term by Donald Trump.”
Another comment by Paoletti includes: “There are many instances of human rights in which skillful lawyers can take cases, in case Trump decides to go completely rogue. One instance is the United Nations. But another instance that I think would work even better is the Organization of American States.”
When the news of this incident broke, many citizens were concerned about the intentions of the U.N. and the scope of power it appears to hold. This concern was even raised by members of the organization.
“They [the U.N.]should be more concerned about how we can work with whoever the administration is going to be, because you’re not always going to like that administration, but it’s not their job. Their job is to protect… They shouldn’t be concerned about how they are going to override the president… As an American, I don’t think that’s what the United Nations stands for,” said Emily Shute, a junior majoring in political science.
Due to this concern, the U.N. had to act regarding these comments to maintain respect for the organization among the public and continue its goals.
In response to these comments, U.N. Correspondent Lenka White released a video criticizing the Louder with Crowder channel for making this information public, stating that “he was not speaking on behalf of the organization in any way, shape, or form.”
While the decision of who would be the best presidential candidate is not only limited to individual citizens –as organizations can band together to support a candidate—there are limits to how far an organization, such as the U.N., can run before facing criticism or consequences.
