Europe's leaders clapped politely as they were told their countries were on the brink of destruction

Donald Trump may have been speaking to the 192 other world leaders gathered at the UN general assembly, but the real target of his address yesterday was Europe, which was hauled up repeatedly as the whipping boy for an antiliberal, blood-and-soil polemic.

- Andrew Roth

It renewed an assault on the transatlantic relationship that has become a theme of his second administration.

In the hour-long address, Trump told European leaders they were destroying their own countries and that they should be more like the US as he condemned their policies on immigration, green energy and political correctness.

These were not subtle digs. On migration, he told Europeans: “Your countries are going to hell!” On the climate crisis, he said Europe was “on the brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda”. On the war in Ukraine, he said Europe was “funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?”