A Trump-shaped wrecking ball swings toward a faltering United Nations : Shared by Lou Mendez

 A Trump-shaped wrecking ball swings toward a faltering United Nations

Ishaan Tharoor with Benjamin Soloway
The Washington Post
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Summary
As the UN marks its 80th year, the institution faces a deep crisis of legitimacy and survival. The U.S., its largest funder, is cutting contributions under President Trump, gutting USAID, withdrawing from key UN agencies, and undermining multilateral agreements like the Paris climate accords. 

While Secretary-General António Guterres warns of famine, climate peril, and war, his restructuring plan — including 20% staff cuts in 2026 — has failed to inspire support. The Security Council remains paralyzed by great power rivalry, and aid agencies like WFP are forced to ration food. Some U.S. lawmakers now openly push for defunding and quitting the UN altogether. In this vacuum, China is positioning itself as a defender of multilateralism, stepping up its role in peacekeeping and WHO support, while the UN increasingly turns to private and philanthropic sources to fill funding gaps.

Quotes

• “The U.N. was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.” — Dag Hammarskjöld

• “You do not have a government in the U.S. that is at all interested in finding global solutions to global problems.” — Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International

• “They are not retreating, they are destroying. They don’t want it to work.” — Agnes Callamard

• “We had the vision to create global institutions after a global cataclysm … There’s no question that as the U.S. pulls back, it leaves a dramatic void.” — Jeffrey Prescott

Would you like me to also prepare a shorter teaser line you can drop into your News & Views weekly editorial (like you did with the ICJ ruling piece)?