Trump UN speech: Seven years ago his audience laughed, this year they were silent

The US leader's address was one of the clearest expositions of the way he sees the world, writes James Landale.

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To his supporters, it will be seen as Trumpism unplugged - to his critics, Trumpism unhinged.

Over almost an hour, he took aim at his opponents and their ideas, picking them off one by one as he toured the world. He began at home, praising the United States and himself. He said the US was living through a golden age and repeated his much-disputed claim that he had personally ended seven wars, something he argued merited a Nobel Peace Prize.

But then the president laid into his hosts. The UN, he said, had not helped his peace-making. He questioned the organisation's purpose, saying it had tremendous potential but was not living up to that. All it did, he claimed, was write strongly worded letters that it did not follow up. Empty words, he said, did not end wars.

He also attacked the UN for the aid it gave to asylum seekers hoping to enter the US, saying: "The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them." The president even attacked the UN for a broken escalator and teleprompter that disrupted his visit and speech.