European Union President Donald Tusk speaks during the 74th United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations on September 26, 2019 in New York City | Stephanie Keith/Getty Images Tusk hits back at Trump In final speech to UN General Assembly, European Council president urges international solidarity and calls on American leader to ‘stop lying.’

NEW YORK — Globalism above patriotism. Solidarity before sovereignty. Truth not lies.

European Council President Donald Tusk delivered a rhetorical beatdown of U.S. President Donald Trump at the United Nations on Thursday, forcefully rebutting the American president's speech endorsing nationalism and patriotism as the key to a better future.

Tusk also seemed to take a sharp, if subtle, dig at Trump's impeachment mess, by specifically referencing Ukraine in declaring: "To protect the rule of law, you really have to accept that law should be above power, not at its beck and call."

Speaking to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, Tusk said he would use his final speech at the U.N. as Council president to answer "words suggesting an imminent conflict between patriotism and globalism."

He did not call out Trump by name, but it was clear his remarks were directed at the U.S. leader, who on Tuesday had declared: "The free world must embrace its national foundations. It must not attempt to erase them or replace them. Looking around and all over this large, magnificent planet, the truth is plain to see: If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. And if you want peace, love your nation. Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first."

"I do not agree with this opinion. It is false and dangerous, even if it has many followers and powerful propagators" — European Council President Donald Tusk

Tusk came out swinging.

"I do not agree with this opinion," he said. "It is false and dangerous, even if it has many followers and powerful propagators."

"The very idea of the United Nations, just like that of the European Union, is de facto a heroic attempt to overcome such thinking," Tusk said. "The patriotism of the 21st century must also have a global dimension, if it is not to become, as has many times been the case, a common national egoism. The history of our nations shows how easy it is to transform the love of one’s homeland into a hatred towards one's neighbors. How easy it is to transform the pride for one’s own culture into a contempt for the culture of strangers. How easy it is to use the slogans of one’s own sovereignty against the sovereignty of others."

"I know that the word globalism doesn’t sound attractive," Tusk said. "Personally, I prefer the word solidarity, so important for me and for my nation. In my political vocabulary, globalism and solidarity mean the same thing."

It is not the first time that Tusk has gone after Trump.

And Tusk issued a stern warning about the dangers of nationalist ideology.

"I love Gdańsk, the town I come from," he said. "I love Poland, my country. And I love Europe. But even if we live in the most beautiful and most modern European city, our life can change into hell if we do not find, here at the United Nations, adequate solutions to global threats, such as armed conflicts and terrorism, nuclear proliferation, or the destruction of our environment. Without the readiness to establish rules on a global level, and later to consistently respect them, local communities, nations and states, and even continents, will remain helpless in the face of those threats."

He then returned to what appeared to be a direct dressing-down of Trump.

"To protect the truth, it is not enough to accuse others of promoting fake news," he said. "Frankly speaking, it would be enough to simply stop lying.

"To protect freedom, it is not enough to talk about it in speeches," Tusk continued. " You have to defend the rights of an individual everywhere and every day. You have to defend the freedom of speech and a free press. And you have to stop flirting with dictators and authoritarian regimes. To protect rule of law, you really have to accept that law should be above power, not at its beck and call. If you want to follow the principles of international solidarity, you always have to help the weaker, if they are attacked by the stronger and the ruthless. Like in the case of Ukraine."

It is not the first time that Tusk has gone after Trump. After Trump threatened tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products, Tusk asked: "With friends like that, who needs enemies?"

The tense transatlantic relations have led the U.S. ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, to seek a reset with the incoming EU leadership, including Tusk's successor, Council President-elect Charles Michel.

Tusk ended his address with another cautionary note: "If the powerful of our world do not understand this, they will go down in history, not as leaders, but as fake leaders. And rightly so."