Trump at U.N.: Immigration, Climate Policies Are Destroying the West

Summary

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WSJ What’s News (PM Edition) – September 23, 2025

Trump at U.N.: Immigration, Climate Policies Are Destroying the West

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Overview

This episode of WSJ’s “What’s News” PM edition covers the key business, financial, and political headlines of the day, with a focus on President Trump’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The episode explores Trump’s nationalist rhetoric targeting immigration and climate change policies, reactions from the global audience, and broader political and economic developments in the U.S., including Fed policy, auto tariffs, and tensions ahead of a potential government shutdown.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jerome Powell & U.S. Economic Outlook

[00:33 - 02:07]

• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed caution about the economic outlook, describing the current interest rate stance as modestly restrictive, postulating “more wiggle room to reduce rates this year” if labor market softness persists.
  • Powell: “Risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment are tilted to the downside. A challenging situation. Two sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path.” (Matt McCool quoting Powell, 01:54)
• Inflation & Labor Market: Powell highlighted the difficult trade-offs facing the Fed, balancing low inflation and a healthy job market.
• Business Activity: The S&P 500 Global Flash U.S. Composite PMI dropped to 53.6 in September, signaling slower but ongoing growth.
• Market Performance: Noted declines in tech stocks, with Nvidia and Amazon leading a roughly 1% NASDAQ decrease; S&P 500 and Dow also slipped.

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2. Auto Industry & Tariff Impacts

[02:07 - 05:06]

• AutoZone Earnings: The company saw higher same-store sales but lower profits amid 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts.
  • “Tariffs are working their way into AutoZone's cost structure...they're passing these costs on largely to consumers.” (Chris Otz, 03:37)
• Tariff Dynamics: Manufacturers of new cars are absorbing more of the cost, while parts retailers are passing it to consumers due to the non-discretionary nature of auto repairs.
  • “If you have a $60 auto repair bill, that's not the same as a new car purchase that is closer to $50,000 and consumers are largely absorbing the cost right now.” (Chris Otz, 04:29)

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3. Security Breach: Telecom Network Dismantled

[05:11 - 06:15]

• Secret Service Announcement: Agents dismantled an illegal telecom network capable of shutting down cell, EMS, and police communications.
  • The system comprised “300 servers and 100,000 SIM cards…in unoccupied apartments and other locations” in the NYC Tri-State area.
  • "Definitively nation state, foreign governments communicating over that network to known criminals in the United States and known organized crime...cartels and terrorist groups..." (Matt McCool, 05:54)

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4. Trump’s U.N. Speech: Nationalism & Critique of the West

[07:10 - 10:14]

a. Key Themes from Trump’s Address

• President Trump delivered a “nationalist, pro-MAGA speech at a global, non-MAGA place” (Alex Ward, 00:45 and 08:49).
• Sharp Critique of Immigration & Environmental Policy:
  • Trump: “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail. I’m the President of the United States, but I worry about Europe. I love Europe...I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double tailed monster destroys everything in its wake...” (Donald Trump, 07:29)
  • He accused leaders of sacrificing heritage for political correctness and “destroying your heritage.”

b. Audience Reaction & Analysis

• Room’s Response: Alex Ward reported a muted reaction, with laughter at Trump’s lighter remarks but surprise at the “double tailed monster” rhetoric (immigration plus climate change).
  • “What you basically felt in the room was, this is Trump doing what Trump does. He’s really trying to make MAGA go global.” (Alex Ward, 08:12 and 08:49)
• UN Critique and Mixed Messaging: Trump castigated the UN's values, yet immediately after, met with Secretary-General Guterres, voicing support for the organization.
  • “Moments afterward, he meets with Antonio Guterres...and says the US is fully behind the UN 100%. So it's very mixed messages...” (Alex Ward, 09:45)

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5. Political Developments: Government Funding Standoff

[10:14 - 11:10]

• Trump withdrew from a scheduled meeting with Democrats regarding a stopgap funding measure to prevent an October 1 government shutdown.
  • Democrats are seeking restored health care funding as their price for supporting GOP stopgap plans.
  • “Jeffries said Trump always chickens out. Schumer has indicated that he is prepared to take the matter down to the wire.” (Alex Osola, 10:16)

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6. Other Notable Stories

[11:10 - 12:10]

• Legal News: A Honolulu man was convicted for the attempted assassination of Trump prior to the 2024 election.
• Media: Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show returns, but some major broadcasters will continue to preempt it for news programming.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment are tilted to the downside. A challenging situation. Two-sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path.”
  – Matt McCool paraphrasing Jerome Powell, 01:54

• “Tariffs are working their way into AutoZone's cost structure... they're passing these costs on largely to consumers.”
  – Chris Otz, 03:37

• “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail...I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double tailed monster destroys everything in its wake...”
  – Donald Trump, 07:29

• “What you basically felt in the room was, this is Trump doing what Trump does. He’s really trying to make MAGA go global.”
  – Alex Ward, 08:12

• “He meets with Antonio Guterres...and says the US is fully behind the UN 100%. So it's very mixed messages...”
  – Alex Ward, 09:45

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:33] – Powell/Fed policy & Inflation risks
• [02:07] – AutoZone earnings and tariff effects (Chris Otz)
• [05:11] – Secret Service busts telecom network (Matt McCool)
• [07:10] – Trump’s U.N. speech and key immigration/climate quotes
• [08:12] – Global reactions and analysis (Alex Ward)
• [10:14] – Government shutdown standoff and political disputes
• [11:10] – Attempted Trump assassination trial verdict & Kimmel broadcast issue

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Summary

This episode captures a pivotal day as Trump’s fiery U.N. address puts immigration and climate at the center of global debate, simultaneously spotlighting America's internal policy standoffs, Fed uncertainties, and the persistent tensions shaping the markets and international affairs. The episode’s conversational yet incisive coverage offers a succinct yet thorough digest of the news for business and political observers alike.

Transcript

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[Alex Osola]

Fed Chair Jerome Powell sees no risk free path ahead for the US Economy. Plus, President Trump tells the UN General assembly that immigration and climate change policies are destroying the West.

[Alex Ward]

Trump provided a nationalist pro maga speech at a global non maga place all four, probably to make a domestic audience a bit happier, but also to try to convert a global audience to his viewpoint.

[Alex Osola]

And some broadcasters are skipping the return of Jimmy Kimmel's Late Night Show. It's Tuesday, September 23rd. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. At a talk in Providence, Rhode island this afternoon, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he judged the central bank's interest rate stance as quote, sen. Still modestly restrictive even after last week's rate cut. That implies more wiggle room to reduce rates this year if officials determine that recent softness in the labor market outweighs setbacks on inflation. But Powell highlighted that the Fed faces challenges in achieving both of its goals keeping inflation low and stable while promoting a healthy job market near term.

[Matt McCool]

Risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment are tilted to the downside. A challenging situation. Two sided risks mean that there is no risk free path.

[Alex Osola]

Powell avoided giving strong hints about the Fed's next meeting on October 28th and 29th, though he didn't push back much against broad market expectations of another cut. New surveys out today showed that US Business activity expanded less rapidly in September, while weaker demand made it harder for firms to increase prices, potentially cooling inflation fears. The S&P 500 Global Flash US Composite PMI, a monthly gauge of activity in both manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 53.6 in September from 54.6 in August. The reading above 50 suggests overall activity continued to expand but at the slowest pace in three Tech stocks led a broad sell off today with investor favorites Nvidia and Amazon leading a roughly 1% decline in the NASDAQ. The S&P 500 dropped about half a percent, while the dow dipped about 0.2%. Car part retailer Autozone posted higher same store sales but lower profit. In the fourth quarter, the company recorded 4.5% comparable sales growth, lower than the 5% that analysts were expecting. For more, I'm joined now by Chris Otz, who covers the auto industry for the Wall Street Journal. Chris, earlier this year, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on imported cars and parts. How did that play into autozone's earnings?

[Chris Otz]

Tariffs are working their way into autozone's cost structure. They were pretty clear about that on the call today. They said that inflation, they're seeing it come back in a little bit more of a pronounced way. And for AutoZone, it may have an impact on profitability, but really on sales. They actually have said that they're really not seeing much of an impact. And that's primarily because if you think about their business selling auto parts, it's generally driven by needs like things breaking or maintenance. And in those cases, consumers really can't put that off. They say that they're working with their vendors on solutions and that they are passing these costs on largely to consumers.

[Alex Osola]

Spinning this out a little bit, what does this show about the broader auto industry and about consumers on the new.

[Chris Otz]

Vehicle side, it's been surprising how tariffs have largely been absorbed by the automakers instead of passed on to consumers. On the parts side, you're seeing the autozones of the world are taking a little bit more of a direct sort of passing on the cost to consumers approach. And they talked about it on the call today. If you have a $60 auto repair bill that's not the same as a new car purchase that is closer to $50,000 and consumers are largely absorbing the cost right now.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Chris Otz. Thank you, Chris.

[Chris Otz]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

The U.S. secret Service said it dismantled a network of electronic devices capable of shutting down cell phone services and carrying out other telecommunications related threats and aimed at U.S. officials. The agency said that the devices located throughout the New York Tri State area, could conduct denial of services attacks and other illicit telecom attacks. A law enforcement official said that the system was also capable of shutting down EMS and police communications. The Secret Service said The network included 300 servers and 100,000 SIM cards that investigators uncovered in unoccupied apartments and other locations. Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the agency's New York field office, described what they know about who was using the network?

[Matt McCool]

Definitely nation state, foreign governments communicating over that network to known criminals in the United States and known organized crime. Known cartels and terrorist groups were using this network to run their to run their communications anonymously and encrypted.

[Alex Osola]

The announcement comes as world leaders gathered in New York City for the United Nations Annual General Assembly. Coming up, Speaking at the U.N. president Trump had some strong words for the U.N. that's after the break.

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[Alex Osola]

President Trump spoke at the United Nations General assembly today, his first speech to the body in six years and the hour long speech filled with grievances about ongoing wars, efforts to fight climate change and a malfunctioning escalator. It was Trump's attacks against global immigration that rang loudest, saying that it was ruining other countries.

[Donald Trump]

If you don't stop people that you've never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail. I'm the President of the United States, but I worry about Europe. I love Europe. I love the people of Europe and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double tailed monster destroys everything in its wake and they cannot let that happen any longer. You're doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct and you're destroying your heritage.

[Alex Osola]

WSJ national security reporter Alex Ward is here with more. Alex, what was the response in the room from other nations hearing Trump's speech?

[Alex Ward]

Kind of muted. I mean, there were laughters at him kind of making fun of the fact that the escalator didn't work and whatnot. I don't think anyone expected an anti immigration, anti climate change speech, what he called a double tailed monster of immigration and climate change. So that was a bit of a surprise. But what you basically felt in the room was this, is Trump doing what Trump does? He's really trying to make MAGA go global.

[Alex Osola]

Yeah, about that MAGA base. Actually it was a pretty clear nationalist theme that Trump said during his speech. He boasted about his deportation record, his effort to boost Fossil fuels. Why do this at the un?

[Alex Ward]

What better place? I mean, the UN is the avatar, is like the place for global governance. So what better place to be? Like, I, Donald Trump, encourage all of you to follow my playbook. He's not preaching to the choir. He's trying to convert. This was Trump challenging the UN's legitimacy, its value, its purpose, all while saying it was a, it's a decent place that has great potential. And also, hey, you countries, stop allowing immigrants stop focusing on climate change because in fact, Western civilization is at stake. So anyway, all this to say is that Trump provided a nationalist pro maga speech at a global, non maga place, all four, probably to make a domestic audience a bit happier with him, but also to try to convert a global audience to his viewpoint.

[Alex Osola]

What does this mean for the un? Because it was really the recipient of a number of attacks from Trump.

[Alex Ward]

Trump did go after the UN pretty hard, like they are trying to combat climate change, they are pro immigration, et cetera, et cetera. And then like moments afterward, he meets with Antonio Guterres, who's the Secretary general of the UN and says the US is fully behind the UN 100%. So it's very mixed messages, but of course there are people that definitely in the Republican Party, especially in the MAGA base, want the US to almost abandon or neuter the UN completely. Trump does not seem to be there at this point.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ national security reporter Alex Ward. Thanks, Alex.

[Alex Ward]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

Separately, President Trump backed out of a planned meeting with Democrats saying on social media it would not be productive. As the country inches toward a government shutdown on October 1, Trump and Republicans are pushing for a seven week stopgap measure to keep the government funded ahead of a possible full year deal later this fall. Democrats have named their price for their votes, restoring billions in health care funds for Affordable Care act subsidies and Medicaid. Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries had requested a meeting with Trump over the weekend to negotiate after saying for weeks that Republicans were unwilling to engage in bipartisan talks. In response to the news of the canceled meeting, Jeffries said Trump always chickens out. Schumer has indicated that he is prepared to take the matter down to the wire. Meanwhile, a Honolulu man has been convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump. Two months before the 2024 presidential election, a Florida federal jury found Ryan Ruth guilty of five criminal counts, including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. He faces up to life in prison. And finally, as we mentioned yesterday, Jimmy Kimmel's late night show will be back on ABC tonight. But broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair, which together operate more than 60 ABC affiliates that reach 22% of U.S. households, say they still plan to replace Kimmel's show with news programming. In a statement, Sinclair said that discussions with ABC are ongoing. Nexstar said it stands by its decision to preempt the show. A Kimmel spokesman declined to comment. Disney and ABC spokespeople didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. And that's what's news for this Tuesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienname and Rodney Davis, with supervising producers Jana Herron and Michael Kosmides. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

[Alex Ward]

Sam.