Donald Trump Labels Climate Change the “Greatest Con Job” at UN Assembly

In a fiery address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump once again challenged the global consensus on climate change, describing it as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” Speaking before more than 150 world leaders and officials, the President sharply criticized established climate science and international environmental initiatives.

“Many of the predictions made by the United Nations and others have been wrong. They were made by people I would call stupid, costing countries their fortunes and jeopardizing their success,” Trump asserted to a global audience. He warned, “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”

Trump criticized the shifting terminology from “global warming” to “climate change,” accusing climate advocates of manipulating terms to fit whatever the weather does. “They said global warming would kill the world, but then it started getting cooler. Now it’s just climate change, so whatever happens, they can claim victory,” he said. Additionally, the President dismissed the concept of the carbon footprint as a “hoax made up by people with evil intentions.”

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While Trump’s speech reverberates with his long-standing skepticism—culminating in the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement—climate experts continue to uphold overwhelming evidence of human-driven climate change. Decades of scientific research document increasing global temperatures, more extreme weather events, and shrinking polar ice. The United Nations warns that inaction risks catastrophic consequences for both people and the planet.

Critics argue that Trump’s dismissal of climate science undermines global cooperation efforts needed to tackle environmental crises. Yet the President warned nations investing heavily in renewable energy that such paths could lead to economic difficulties.

This declaration at the 2025 UN summit has reignited intense debate worldwide as governments weigh the balance between environmental policies and economic priorities. With rising global climate impacts documented by independent researchers, the conversation surrounding climate change remains one of the defining challenges of the decade.