Escalating trouble – Trump takes on the UN and Europe

EU Confidential

POLITICO

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.4 • 175 Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Trump says Ukraine can win — but should Europe believe him? At a hectic U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned world leaders with a dramatic rhetorical reversal on the war in Ukraine, mocking Russia as a “paper tiger” and urging NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft. Host Sarah Wheaton unpacks what this means with POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt and Nick Vinocur, reporting from Manhattan — and asks whether Europe can trust Trump’s new tune. Then we turn to a different transatlantic question: Europe’s own defense. Sarah sits down with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen for candid reflections on NATO, neutrality and how their countries see the threat from Russia. It’s a week of motorcade gridlock, geopolitical pivots and presidential soul-searching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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	...

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