J'Accuse, on thursday 24, september The Triumph of the Mar-a-Lago Don Quixote: When Trump’s Gold Blinds the World at the UN

 The Triumph of the Mar-a-Lago Don Quixote: When Trump’s Gold Blinds the World at the UN

"Tehran lectures on peace, so Washington demonstrates its peak diplomatic maturity by walking out to wash its hands." During the UN General Assembly, the Iranian president condemned Western sanctions affecting children, while U.S. delegates promptly left the room, choosing to completely ignore the accusations. Critics view this exit as a blatant display of selective amnesia, directly comparing it to Washington's ongoing diplomatic coverage of the devastating toll on children in Gaza. Conversely, the U.S. defended the walkout as a refusal to give a stage to state propaganda from a government they accuse of fueling regional conflict.

Yesterday, the Palace of Trinkets—formerly known as the Glass Palace for its transparency—echoed with the footsteps of the tenant of the White House. Donald Trump climbed to the highest perch of the United Nations General Assembly, not as a head of state among peers, but as the self-proclaimed sovereign of a world he claims to have saved. In a speech where megalomania wrestled with unreality, the American president boasted of an exploit worthy of the greatest mythological tales: having single-handedly ended eight major wars.

For history (or rather, for his own legend), he listed his "trophies": the end of the conflict in Ukraine, the pacification of the Korean Peninsula, the normalization of the Balkans, the restored stability in Libya, the end of the insurgencies in the Sahel, the settlement of the Venezuelan crisis, and—the height of the grotesque—the extinguishing of historical fires in Gaza and Lebanon, including the occupied Arab territories.

Yet, the makeup of Trumpist rhetoric struggles to mask the blood and ashes. At the very same moment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recalled the chilling reality on the ground: in Gaza and Lebanon, a literal campaign of ethnic cleansing is being perpetrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s army. But reality matters little to this modern Don Quixote. While his "Invincible Armada" of economic certainties is on a direct collision course with the truth, Trump sees in the smoke of the wars he claims to have extinguished the idyllic glow of a rediscovered pax americana.

The Golden Age of Some, the Inflation of Others

Behind this podium triomphalism hides a global blackmail. If the General Assembly remained hung on his every word in a heavy silence, it was not out of admiration, but out of the terror inspired by this new breed of tyrant, threatening left and right anyone who refuses to adhere to his vision. The "American Dream" is supposed to gallop once more across the hills and prairies of the Great West, and the promised golden age has allegedly already submerged his America in wealth.

In reality, for the rest of the planet and the world's citizens, this "golden age" translates into a systemic crisis, rampant inflation, and skyrocketing commodity prices. The liberation promised by Trumpism is nothing but a narcissistic illusion, an enslavement by the market and by fear. As Montesquieu pointed out, the disappearance of political moderation inevitably leads to the loss of collective freedom. Similarly, tolerance, the foundation of peace among nations according to Voltaire, is trampled here in favor of pure power dynamics.

The Theater of the Absurd: From "24 Hours" to the Rare Earth Deal

The spectacle reached its peak of cynicism when Trump, addressing the press at the building's entrance, urged Vladimir Putin to "stop the war." A theatrical appeal launched as if America played no role in this conflict, even though the weapons and the political will to prolong it remain deeply anchored in Washington. This is a far cry from the grandiose campaign promises swearing to settle the Ukrainian crisis "in 24 hours."

In the mouth of the American president, the narrative is now well-rehearsed: if the war continues, it is the fault of the Russians. And if peace drags on, it is the fault of Volodymyr Zelensky, guilty of not having finalized the famous "deal" on Ukrainian rare earth elements, meant to offset the US war effort and financial assistance. This self-proclaimed pacifism of Trump reveals its true nature: an open-air business plan. This purely transactional approach stands in stark contrast to the analyses of American political scientist Jeffrey Sachs. Sachs, a staunch opponent of the war in Ukraine, has long characterized the conflict not as a simple defense of democratic values, but as a direct consequence of Western institutional imperialism and reckless NATO expansionism that deliberately ignored geopolitical realities. While Trump claims eight wars have been extinguished, plenty remain to consume the planet in a matter of seconds.

The Accents of Tyranny

The rest of the speech took on tones worthy of the most appalling dictators in contemporary history. In a menacing and irreverent tone, Trump delivered an ultimatum to Iran: bow to a new unilateral "deal," or face outright annihilation. Turning his gaze toward the Caribbean, he declared with sovereign contempt that "Cuba was already dead," feigning ignorance of the fact that the island's economic agony is the direct product of the ruthless embargo maintained by his own administration.

The White House chief’s contempt for multilateralism is matched only by his hatred for checks and balances. Violently attacking the CNN journalists in attendance, Trump reminded everyone that for his regime, anyone who thinks and writes freely constitutes a public danger. For in this America he claims is draped in gold, the social reality on the ground is entirely different: inequalities are exploding, racial hatred is elevated to a political strategy, and cultural insecurity grows in the face of lost ethical and identity anchors.

The Washington Don Quixote continues to charge his windmills, convinced of his own glory. But the world is beginning to see the spiritual and democratic poverty hidden behind the gilding of his towers.

Bibliographical Notes and References

1 Marcuse, Herbert. One-Dimensional Man (1964). Marcuse theorizes how advanced industrial society (and by extension modern spectacular capitalism) creates a false consciousness of "liberation" through consumption and material comfort, actually masking a totalitarian social control and a loss of critical thinking. Trump embodies this illusion where the accumulation of wealth ("gold") is confused with political freedom.

2 Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat. The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Book XI. Montesquieu demonstrates that democracy and political liberty can only subsist under a moderate government, where "power checks power." Trump's behavior at the UN, based on threats and intimidation of member countries, illustrates the slide toward despotism where the will of a single man seeks to break free from the rules of international law.

3 Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet). Treatise on Tolerance (1763). Voltaire asserts that universal tolerance is the first human right and the necessary bulwark against political and religious barbarism. Trump’s invectives against Iran, Cuba, or the free press represent the absolute antithesis of the Voltairean ideal of mutual respect and pluralism within the community of nations.

4 Sachs, Jeffrey. Public commentaries and essays on the geopolitical origins of the Ukraine war. Sachs argues that the conflict is deeply rooted in US imperial hubris and the provocative expansion of NATO eastward, arguing that true peace requires addressing these structural causes rather than treating international relations merely as business deals or unilateral dictates.