Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, is in D.C. to meet with President Donald Trump. Normally, Guterres meeting with a head of state wouldn't be all that newsworthy. But … let's just say Trump hasn't exactly been the biggest fan of the U.N. in the past.
Trump's made his animosity toward the U.N. well known — from its stance on Israel to the tiles behind the general assembly hall podium.
Here's Trump speaking at a conference in 2016: "Which brings me to my next point, the utter weakness and incompetence of the United Nations. The United Nations is not a friend of democracy, it's not a friend to freedom, it's not a friend even to the United States of America where, as you all know, it has its home."
One of his biggest issues is how much money the U.S. spends on the U.N.
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"The United States, just one of 193 countries in the U.N., pays for 22 percent of the budget and almost 30 percent of the United Nations peacekeeping, which is unfair," he said.
Trump's also started putting U.N. skeptics in his inner circle, such as John Bolton, his new national security adviser. Bolton once said the U.N. headquarters building could lose 10 stories and it wouldn't make a bit of difference.
Fortunately for Trump, Guterres has made it one of his missions to reform the U.N., including parts of the budget.
When Guterres stopped by the White House last year, Trump told him the U.S. appreciates all that he does and that the U.N. had great potential. We'll see if Trump thinks the U.N. has lived up to some of that potential when the two leaders meet tomorrow.
