Trump says he can "very easily" solve the UN's financial problem

President of the United States Donald Trump presented himself as the savior of the United Nations, which is in danger of financial collapse, boasting of his ability to force members to pay unpaid dues. He said this in a telephone interview with the newspaper Politico.

On Sunday, the US president refused to say whether the US will be able to pay back the billions of dollars it owes to the international organization.

Speaking from Florida, Trump said he was not aware that the US was falling behind on its UN commitments, but he was confident that he could "very easily solve the problem" and make other countries pay – if only the UN would ask.

"If they came to Trump and told him, I would make everybody pay, just like I made NATO pay," he said, referring to himself in the third person.

"All I have to do is call these countries, they will send checks within minutes," the US president continued.

Trump's comments followed a report in The New York Times that senior UN officials had warned that the organization could be forced to scale back its activities or even close its headquarters in New York due to financial problems. The US President immediately denied this.

"I don't think that's appropriate. The UN will not leave New York and the United States, because the UN has enormous potential," Trump said.

Last year, the Trump administration cut foreign aid by hundreds of millions of dollars and disbanded USAID, and regularly portrayed international organizations as tools that allow other countries to benefit from the actions of the United States.

• In October 2025, it was reported that the UN will reduce by a quarter peacekeeping contingent in nine operations around the world due to lack of funds.
• At the end of January 2026 uN Secretary General warned the organization is under the threat of "imminent financial collapse".