The recent United Nations General Assembly once again gave world leaders a stage to criticize President Donald Trump and American foreign policy.
asserted
Assembly → give → Trump
Iran’s president attacked Trump while portraying his own country as a victim of terrorism.
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president → attack → terrorism
French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a “new age of barbarism.”
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Macron → warn → barbarism
Other American allies used the gathering to distance themselves from Trump’s approach to international affairs.
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allies → use → affairs
But the spectacle raises a more important question: What is the U.N. actually doing about the countries that pose the greatest threats to the international order it was created to protect?
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it → raise → order
Let’s start with Russia.
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’s → let → Russia
Russia invaded Ukraine in direct violation of the U.N. Charter and has repeatedly used its permanent seat on the Security Council to frustrate international action against itself.
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Russia → invade → itself
Russia, including the Soviet Union, has used its Security Council veto more than any other permanent member.
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Russia → include → member
China presents a different but equally serious challenge.
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China → present → challenge
Beijing has spent years expanding its economic and diplomatic influence throughout the developing world and international institutions.
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Beijing → spend → world
A recent report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party detailed China’s efforts to increase its influence within UN agencies and leadership positions and use international institutions to advance its strategic interests.
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report → detail → interests
Yet Russia and China remain two of the five permanent members of the Security Council, each armed with a veto.
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each → remain → veto
That doesn’t make the U.N. irrelevant.
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U.N. → make → ?
It does expose a serious contradiction at the heart of the institution.
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It → expose → institution
And this is where Trump deserves some credit.
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Trump → deserve → credit
His broader argument that the United States should stop accepting international institutions and alliances in which America provides disproportionate resources while others provide rhetoric is neither new nor unreasonable.
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others → stop → rhetoric
The same applies to America’s traditional allies.
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same → apply → allies
Europe has substantially increased its support for Ukraine and deserves credit for doing so.
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Europe → increase → credit
But Europe still depends heavily on American weapons and other critical military capabilities to deter Russia on its own continent.
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Europe → depend → continent
Canada offers another example.
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Canada → offer → example
It has a proud history as a peacekeeping nation, yet today contributes fewer than 60 uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations, ranking 69th among contributors.
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It → have → contributors
Trump isn’t the first American president to complain about burden-sharing.
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Trump → complain → sharing
What distinguishes him is his willingness to apply far more pressure to change it.
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distinguishes → distinguish → it
If that pressure produces European allies with stronger militaries, NATO members better prepared to deter Russia, and democratic nations more willing to confront Chinese influence, the alliance will be stronger for it.
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alliance → produce → it
Trump has taken the same aggressive approach toward China.
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Trump → take → China
Tariffs have been one of his preferred tools, using access to the enormous American market as leverage while pushing the U.S. to reconsider its dependence on China for manufacturing, critical minerals, technology, and other strategically important supply chains.
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Tariffs → prefer → manufacturing
More interesting, and less discussed, is how that thinking is influencing other areas of American policy.
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influencing → discuss → policy
This includes antitrust, with U.S. intelligence and national security officials having reportedly argued for tech mergers that create stronger American competitors to China’s Huawei.
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that → include → Huawei
That matters.
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That → matter → ?
China does not neatly separate commercial competition, technology, and national security.
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China → separate → competition
The U.S. cannot afford to pretend they exist in separate worlds either.
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they → afford → worlds
The same thinking applies to Chinese influence closer to home.
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thinking → apply → home
At their peak, roughly 100 Confucius Institutes operated at American colleges and universities.
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Institutes → operate → colleges
Concerns about transparency, academic independence, and Chinese government influence eventually drew bipartisan attention.
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Concerns → draw → attention
Congress began restricting certain federal funding for universities hosting the institutes in 2018.
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Congress → begin → 2018
The Trump administration increased the pressure and scrutiny, including designating the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of China in 2020.
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administration → increase → 2020
Today, fewer than five remain.
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five → remain → ?
Trump cannot claim sole credit for that outcome.
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Trump → claim → outcome
But his administration was part of a broader shift in Washington toward treating Chinese influence as a national security issue rather than simply an academic or economic one.
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administration → treat → issue
Which brings us back to the U.N.
China understands that international institutions are another arena of strategic competition.
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institutions → bring → competition
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
