President Trump on Monday gave the United Nations credit for working to end drug addiction around the world, a turnaround from his past comments when he’s said the U.N. wasn’t living up to its potential.
Trump praised U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York Monday morning by saying he has helped to turn the U.N. ship around.
“As our special guest, he’s become a great friend and he’s doing a wonderful job at a very, very complex situation, but a beautiful situation,” Trump said. “I’ve always said the United Nations has tremendous potential, and that potential is being met, slowly but surely, it’s being met.”
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In 2017, Trump said the U.N. has “tremendous potential” to solve the world’s problems, but that it “hasn’t lived up to the potential.” Trump was tougher on the international body before taking office, and said it was just a “club for people to talk and have a good time.”
Trump was there to talk about the need to reduce the supply of and demand for drugs that are killing people around the world.
“The scourge of drug addiction continues to claim too many lives in the United States and in nations around the world,” he said. “Today, we commit to fighting the drug epidemic together.”
“The call is simple: Reduce drug demand, cut off the supply of illicit drugs, expand treatment and strengthen international cooperation,” he said. “If we take these steps together, we can save the lives of countless people in all corners of the world.”
