At UN, Rubio Declares Global System ‘Broken’ And Puts U.S. Interests First

Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the Trump administration’s foreign policy approach on Wednesday, telling reporters at the United Nations General Assembly that the current global system is failing to resolve major wars and must refocus on basic diplomacy.

Speaking to journalists during the annual gathering, Rubio said the United States still recognizes value in global institutions but argued that the United Nations has drifted too far from its original mission.

“The international system is failing because it has grown beyond its mandate, unable to solve virtually any major conflict in the world,” Rubio said. “The international system is not in good shape right now. We see the utility in the international system. We’re here. The president said the United Nations has tremendous potential but is not living up to it.”

Rubio’s remarks came after a reporter asked about comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently warned about an erosion of global norms and a return to the “law of the jungle.”

Rubio said he was unsure what Macron was specifically referencing, noting that he had only seen the French leader briefly before the speech. Instead, Rubio framed the current state of global affairs as an institutional collapse from within, arguing that world leaders privately share similar concerns.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

“I think there is unanimity and consensus in the gathering, and broadly, that the international system is broken, but it broke itself,” Rubio said. “It needs to be brought back to its proper focus and proper role.”

Rubio pointed to several unresolved flashpoints worldwide, including tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, conflicts in Rwanda and Sudan, and maritime friction involving Iran in nearby straits. He argued that international bodies have repeatedly failed to settle these disputes.

The secretary emphasized that governments will inevitably prioritize their own citizens, describing national interest as the guiding principle of the Trump administration’s foreign relations.

“Nation-states will act in their national interest. I want to be clear: This is not an attack on the international system,” Rubio said. “At the end of the day, the United States will always—at least as long as President Trump is in office—we will always act in the national interest of our country, not in the interest of the international order. We’ll never put the international order above the interests of the United States.”