Ambassador Mike Waltz lays out ‘America First’ vision for US leadership at the UN

EXCLUSIVE: Ambassador Mike Waltz, the U.S. imperishable typical to the United Nations, outlined the Trump administration’s "America First"-centered policies that helium is adopting successful a wide-ranging, exclusive interrogation with Fox News Digital, arsenic the erstwhile nationalist information advisor asserts himself successful the role.

Waltz rejected claims that the contiguous U.N. currency situation was chiefly a effect of unpaid U.S. dues. "The United States pays to the U.N. system, much than 180 countries combined," noting, "We person historically been the largest protagonist of the U.N., but nether President Trump, we’re demanding reform."

Waltz argued the enactment has drifted from its founding mission. "There are times wherever the U.N. has been incredibly adjuvant to U.S. overseas argumentation and objectives, but determination are besides times wherever it’s moving against us," helium said. "It has go bloated, it has go duplicative, it has mislaid its mode from its archetypal founding."

Waltz framed the attack arsenic portion of an "America First" doctrine focused connected accountability for payer dollars and burden-sharing among subordinate states, saying that Washington’s fiscal leverage is intended to unit change. "When we springiness the U.N. immoderate pugnacious emotion … these are the American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars," helium said. "At the extremity of the day, we volition get the American taxpayers’ money’s worth, truthful to speak, retired of this organization."

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz raises his manus to ballot successful favour of a draught solution authorizing an International Stabilization Force successful Gaza connected Nov. 17, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty)

At the U.N. earlier this week, the secretary-general framed the situation arsenic a substance of unpaid obligations by subordinate states. When asked what gives him assurance the United States volition pay, helium said, "The question is not 1 of confidence. Obligations are obligations. So successful narration to obligations, it’s not a substance of having confidence. It’s a substance of obligations being met."

The secretary-general’s spokesperson, successful effect to a Fox News Digital question, rejected the thought that the organization’s fiscal situation stems from interior absorption and echoed that position, saying the backing concern is "very clear," pointing to the information that immoderate of the largest contributors person not paid, portion arguing the secretary-general has been a "responsible steward" of U.N. finances and has pursued absorption betterment since the commencement of his tenure.

"They conscionable agreed to chopped astir 3,000 office bureaucratic positions," Waltz said successful their defense. "They agreed to the first-ever fund chopped successful U.N. past successful 80 years, a 15% fund cut, and they’re cutting planetary peacekeeping forces by 25%."

"What’s absorbing is, down the scenes, a batch of radical are saying convey you. This spot needs to beryllium better. President Trump is right. It’s not surviving up to its potential. We should inquire ourselves, wherefore isn’t the U.N. resolving things similar borderline disputes with Cambodia and Thailand? Why aren’t they truly driving the humanitarian catastrophe successful Sudan to a resolution? That’s what the U.N. was built for. Thank God President Trump is, but he’s asking the question of wherefore is helium having to bash each of this. Where’s the United Nations? So we’re determined present to assistance them unrecorded up to their reforms, unrecorded up to their mandate, unrecorded up to their mission."

"You person to person 1 spot successful the satellite wherever everyone tin talk," helium said. "The president is simply a president of peace. He puts diplomacy first."

Asked whether U.N. enactment is doing capable to betterment the satellite body, Waltz said Secretary-General António Guterres has begun moving successful the close absorption but should person acted sooner.

"The caput wide has taken steps successful the close direction. Frankly, I privation helium had done it overmuch sooner successful a overmuch much assertive way," Waltz said.

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President Donald Trump meets with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during the 80th league of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) astatine the United Nations office connected Sept. 23, 2025, successful New York City.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He cited structural changes and consolidation efforts portion arguing that measurable results indispensable follow.

"The U.N.’s fund has quadrupled successful the past 25 years," Waltz said. "We haven’t seen a quadrupling of bid astir the world. In fact, it’s gone the other direction."

When asked if the administration’s Gaza bid model and a mechanics known arsenic the Board of Peace are alternatives to the U.N., Waltz said they are intended to complement the instauration alternatively than regenerate it.

"The president doesn’t mean the Board of Peace to regenerate the U.N., but helium intends to thrust a batch of these conflicts to conclusion," helium said.

"As portion of the president’s 20-point bid program was besides the Board of Peace to really instrumentality it," helium said.

He said the Board of Peace involves determination governments and is designed to make a stabilization operation connected the ground. "The Egyptians are involved, Turkey’s involved, the Gulf Arabs, Jordan and importantly, the Israelis," helium said. "We’re going to person a stabilization force, we’re going to person a backing mechanics for rebuilding humanitarian assistance … and this Palestinian technocratic committee that tin reconstruct authorities services."

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, past U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff be an interrogation aft gathering with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's overseas argumentation advisor Yuri Ushakov, astatine Diriyah Palace, successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2025.  (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/Pool)

Looking ahead, Waltz said the medication wants a narrower, much mission-driven U.N. focused connected security, struggle solution and economical development.

"I spot … a overmuch much focused U.N. that we person taken backmost to the basics of promoting bid and information astir the world," helium said.

He besides called for greater backstage assemblage engagement and little reliance connected accepted assistance structures. "This aged exemplary of NGOs and agencies going to governments and conscionable saying, ‘More, more, more’ — it isn’t sustainable," helium said. "If we’re driving environments successful processing countries that invited American businesses … we interruption that dependence connected improvement assistance and everyone benefits."

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A presumption of the United Nations Headquarters gathering successful New York City connected July 16, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ultimately, Waltz framed his relation arsenic executing overseas argumentation vision. "I’m a vas for the president’s vision," helium said. "From my perspective, astatine the extremity of his administration, helium looks astatine a U.N. that is starring successful driving countries toward peaceful conclusions to conflicts astir the satellite and asking for his help. That’s a overmuch amended dynamic than the president having to bash it each and saying, ‘Where is the U.N. successful these conflicts?’ And truthful we’re looking to precise overmuch flip that connected its head, and we person a program to bash it."