Mali slams Trump climate change ‘con job’ claims
South Australia’s Premier warns future generations are looking to leaders for action as he dismisses US President Donald Trump’s climate change “con job” claims. He points to “marine life washing up by the tonnes” on SA beaches.
US President Donald Trump has told the UN General Assembly that climate change was “the greatest con job ever” in a blistering tirade, drawing the ire of the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas.
In an interview on ABC Radio this morning, the Premier said “I don’t think you’re human if you don’t get really worried about what’s happening”.
Trump overnight took aim at world leaders and allies in a speech that encompassed the climate change “con job” and mass migration threats.
“It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,” Trump said.
“All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong.
“They were made by stupid people that have cost their country’s fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success.”
Malinauskas said he disagreed with Trump and referred to the devastating impact of the harmful algal bloom in SA.
“Walk along the beach in metropolitan Adelaide or sometimes even worse in the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, and you see … this marine life washing up by the tonnes,” he said.
“I don’t think you’re human if you don’t get really worried about what’s happening.
“This is real, and future generations of citizens globally are going to live in this world and ask of us and leaders at every level, ‘what did you do to actually listen to the science and take on this challenge? What did you do to reduce carbon emissions?’ and I think they’ll be right to ask that question of us.
“I want to make sure that South Australia ends up on the right side of that argument by actually demonstrating decarbonisation can be achieved without compromising living standards.”
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Scientists across the world say climate change is real, mostly caused by humans, and getting worse. Data points to rising temperatures, stronger storms, and melting ice as clear signs.
Groups such as the UN have warned that waiting too long to act could cause serious damage to the planet and people.
Trump stuns UN
Trump spoke for nearly an hour in his 15-minute allotted time slot at the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York on Tuesday (US time).
In other parts of the talk, Trump warned European countries they were “going to hell” and losing their Western heritage because of their immigration policies, and urged them to follow his lead.
European nations have been grappling with waves of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, which is causing political unrest.
“If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail,” he said.
“Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border — and removing illegal aliens from the United States — they simply stopped coming.
“You’re doing it because you want to be nice. You want to be politically correct, and you’re destroying your heritage,” he said.
“I’m really good at this stuff.
“Your countries are going to hell.”
Human rights advocates argue the migrants are seeking better lives.
Trump began his speech by complaining about the broken teleprompter. During his tirade he also bemoaned a “bad escalator” at the UN building, which suddenly stopped when he was riding up with US first lady Melania Trump.
“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalising the deal,” he said.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator, that on the way up, stopped right in the middle.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” he said to laughter.
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Trump briefly discussed the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. He later took to social media with a major statement on Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a reversal of his previous rhetoric, Trump said Ukraine would be able to take back all its territory from Russia.
“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, Nato, the original borders from where this war started, is very much an option. Why not?”
Trump sprinkled into his speech a litany of false and misleading statements, such as that London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to impose “Sharia law” and that “inflation has been defeated” in the US six days after the Federal Reserve said it had risen.
European powers have spent months trying to stabilise their relationship with Trump, with a focus on winning US support to end the war in Ukraine. At a NATO summit in June, Trump and European leaders lavished each other with praise.
But in Tuesday’s speech, Trump mocked NATO allies for not halting purchases of Russian oil and said he would impose strong economic measures on Moscow.
“They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs,” he said.
“For those tariffs to be effective, European nations, all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures.”
On the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Trump rejected world leaders’ efforts to embrace a Palestinian state, a move that faces fierce resistance from Israel.
“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” he said, repeating his call for the return of hostages taken by the Palestinian militant group.
PM to formally meet Trump
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally locked in a formal face-to-face meeting with Trump, after a number of false starts.
The October 20 bilateral with the President in Washington was confirmed by Albanese during a doorstop on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
Albanese stressed that Trump had agreed to a meeting “some time ago”.
“We had another chat about it on the phone and we’ll have a meeting in Washington DC on October 20,” he told reporters.
The prime minister has been battling for formal face time against other world leaders after missing out on a hoped-for meeting with Trump during the UN leaders gathering.
Some analysts had suggested the federal government’s decision to formally acknowledge Palestine may have contributed to this week’s snub.
– With AAP
