The audacity is almost admirable.
One day after President Trump announced the U.S. is withdrawing from 66 international organizations, the United Nations issued a response. Not a request. Not a negotiation. A demand.
“Assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the U.N. Charter for all Member States, including the United States.”
Translation: you can’t leave, and you can’t stop paying us.
The globalists really think they’re in charge.
$13 Billion Annually — And They Want More
Let’s talk about what American taxpayers have been funding.
The U.S. is the single largest contributor to the UN system. In 2023 alone, America sent roughly $13 billion across all UN entities. That includes over $820 million just for the regular budget, plus massive voluntary contributions to agencies like the World Food Programme.
For context: we’re paying more than any other country to fund an organization that routinely condemns us, platforms our adversaries, and advances policies Americans never voted for.
And when we say we’re done? They demand we keep paying as a “legal obligation.”
António Guterres: Former Socialist, Current Beggar
The man issuing demands is UN Secretary-General António Guterres — a former Socialist Party leader and prime minister of Portugal.
Guterres said he “regretted” Trump’s decision but insisted no avenue exists for America to stop paying dues.
A socialist from a country with a GDP smaller than Ohio’s is telling the United States it has no choice but to fund his organization.
This is who the globalist establishment thinks should be giving orders to America.
The Organizations Getting Cut Off
Trump’s withdrawal list reads like a catalog of bureaucratic waste and anti-American activism.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — the parent treaty behind all international climate agreements and the vehicle for wealth transfers from America to developing nations.
UNRWA — the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that’s been caught employing Hamas members and operating schools that teach antisemitism.
The UN Human Rights Council — a body that includes human rights champions like China, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia while obsessively condemning Israel.
UNESCO — which admitted Palestine as a member state in 2011, prompting the U.S. to stop funding them once before.
Regional commissions for Asia-Pacific, Western Asia, Africa, and Latin America — bureaucracies that accomplish nothing Americans would recognize as valuable.
All of these organizations have been surviving on American money while advancing agendas Americans oppose.
“Learned Through News Reports”
The announcement apparently caught UN diplomats by surprise.
“There has been no formal communication from the Trump administration outlining the decision,” according to reports. Diplomats learned about the withdrawal through news reports and White House social media.
Good.
The UN has spent decades treating American concerns with contempt. They’ve passed resolutions condemning our allies. They’ve lectured us about human rights while seating dictatorships on oversight committees. They’ve demanded more money while delivering less accountability.
Now they find out about their funding cuts through Twitter. Welcome to how the rest of us experience your pronouncements.
The “Legal Obligation” Bluff
The UN claims American contributions are a “legal obligation” under the UN Charter.
Here’s the thing about international agreements: they’re binding only to the extent that sovereign nations choose to honor them. America signed the UN Charter. America can also decide the terms under which it participates — or doesn’t.
What’s the UN going to do if we stop paying? Sanction us? Invade?
The “legal obligation” argument assumes America is subordinate to international bodies. We’re not. We’re a sovereign nation that chooses to participate in international organizations when it serves our interests.
When it doesn’t serve our interests, we leave. That’s not a violation. That’s self-governance.
17 Acres of Prime Manhattan Real Estate
Here’s a detail worth remembering: UN headquarters sits on 17-18 acres of prime real estate in Turtle Bay, Manhattan.
America hosts this organization. We provide security. We exempt their diplomats from most laws. We let them park illegally all over the city.
And they’re demanding we keep funding them as a “legal obligation.”
Maybe it’s time to discuss the “legal obligations” that come with being our tenant.
The Climate Gravy Train Derails
The biggest target on Trump’s list is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This 1992 treaty is the foundation of every international climate agreement — including the Paris Agreement Trump withdrew from. It’s the mechanism by which wealthy nations are pressured to send money to developing nations in the name of climate justice.
Trump called climate change a “hoax.” His administration sent no one to the most recent UN climate summit in Brazil. Now he’s cutting off funding to the treaty organization itself.
The global climate bureaucracy just lost its biggest funder. Whatever comes next at UN climate conferences, America won’t be paying for it.
“All United Nations Entities Will Go On”
The UN spokesman insisted that “all United Nations entities will go on with the implementation of their mandates as given by member states.”
Sure they will. But with what money?
America provides the plurality of funding for most UN operations. Without American dollars, programs shrink. Staff gets cut. Influence wanes.
The UN can pretend nothing has changed. Reality will intrude soon enough.
Try Collecting
António Guterres can cite charter provisions until he’s blue in the face. He can invoke “legal obligations” and express “regret” and insist America has no choice.
But here’s what the UN needs to understand: demands only work when you have leverage.
What leverage does the UN have over the United States? None. Zero. We host them. We fund them. We protect them.
They exist at our pleasure. Not the other way around.
Trump just reminded them of that. The checks aren’t coming. The participation is ending. The “legal obligations” are being ignored.
And there’s not a damn thing António Guterres can do about it except write more strongly-worded statements that nobody in Washington will read.
Welcome to a world where America puts America first. Get used to it.