Obama warns against strongman governments

Making his case against nationalistic and anti-immigration movements that have grown both in the U.S. and around the globe, President Barack Obama told the United Nations general assembly Tuesday that “today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.”

Obama’s remark appeared to be an allusion to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has campaigned hard against the president’s record and has pledged to build a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico. In his final address as president before the United Nations general assembly, Obama was critical of the isolationist movement that Trump has championed in the U.S. and others have pushed abroad.


“As these real problems have been neglected, alternative visions of the world have pressed forward, both in the wealthiest countries and in the poorest,” Obama said after discussing economic inequality and other international issues. “Religious fundamentalism, the politics of ethnicity or tribe or sect, aggressive nationalism, a crude populism, sometimes from the far left but more often from the far right, which seeks to restore what they believe was a better, simpler age free of outside contamination. We cannot dismiss these visions. They are powerful. They reflect dissatisfaction among too many of our citizens. ”

“Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself,” the president continued. “So the answer cannot be a simple rejection of global integration. Instead, we must work together to make sure the benefits of such integration are broadly shared.”

The president led his speech with a celebration of global accomplishments to which the U.S. has been party during his administration, listing the reduction of terrorists’ safe havens, the landmark nuclear agreement with Iran and the resumption of diplomatic relations with Cuba as successes.

But Obama also listed global problems like the flow of refugees, continued financial disruptions, and a lack of basic order and security in the Middle East. The president urged the international community “that we must go forwards and not backwards,” offering a defense of Western values as the best path forward for global growth and success.

“I believe that as imperfect as they are, the principles of open markets and accountable governance, of democracy and human rights and international law that we have forged remain the firmest foundation for human progress in this century,” Obama said. “I make this argument not based on theory or ideology but on facts.”

In making that case, Obama warned against strongman governments and oppressive tactics like media suppression. He said such strategies are stifling for economies hungry for information and ultimately lead to further crackdowns or the scapegoating of foreign enemies that can lead to war.

Speaking specifically of the Middle East, Obama called for the recognition of a “common humanity” that would serve as a stepping stone toward resolving the various conflicts in the region. Again attacking isolationism, Obama said the rest of the world cannot turn its back on conflict in the Middle East in the hope that violence will be contained to the region.

“Until basic questions are answered about how communities coexist, the embers of extremism will continue to burn, countless human beings will suffer, most of all in that region, but extremism will continue to be exported overseas,” he said. “And the world is too small for us to simply be able to build a wall and prevent it from affecting our own societies.”