Donald Trump would hit UN with brutal funding cuts, London fears

LONDON — As Prime Minister Keir Starmer mingles with world leaders at the United Nations, British officials worry that a Donald Trump-shaped wrecking ball is heading for the global body.

The U.K. leader’s government has repeatedly stressed it will work closely with whoever wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

But as the United Nations General Assembly gathers in New York, London simmers with anxiety that Trump could drastically cut funding to the U.N. if he wins the November ballot.

A U.K. diplomat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said there was “significant concern” that if Trump decides to slash or even stop budget contributions to the organization, “it will become very problematic very quickly.” 

Two other U.K. officials spoke of misgivings about Trump’s targets on the international stage, with one commenting: “He’s erratic, and you just never know what you’re going to get.”

Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the Crisis Group NGO, said: “Senior U.N. officials are pretty convinced that a second Trump administration would impose even more savage financial cuts.”

Asked about Trump’s plans for the U.N., Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for his campaign, said: “President Trump will restore world peace through American strength and ensure European nations carry their weight by paying their fair share.”

Track record

The last time Trump held office he took an ax to funding for the U.N. Population Fund, the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS, its Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, and the World Health Organization. He later moved to withdraw from the WHO completely.

Trump also tried to cut aid to U.N. peacekeeping efforts by almost half a billion dollars. Although Congress rejected the plan, it agreed to enforce a cap on contributions, while the General Assembly significantly cut peacekeeping missions under pressure from Trump.

The diplomat cited above said that beyond hits to individual institutions, the U.N. is assessing how it could handle a big overall cut in the U.S. contribution to its budget.

Gowan warned the U.N. is “already in dire financial straits” and is tens of billions of dollars short of what it needs to run humanitarian operations in places such as Gaza and Afghanistan.

‘In trouble’

The U.S. is the largest donor to the U.N. Washington contributed more than one-third of funding for the body’s collective budget in 2022, but remains in arrears following four years of unpaid dues under the Trump administration.

Gowan observed that many U.S. Republicans are “furious” with the way the U.N. General Assembly and U.N. officials have criticized Israel over the war in Gaza, saying that “if you have Republicans in control of both Congress and the White House, the U.N. will definitely be in trouble.”

Global diplomats are keeping a close eye on the November U.S. election, as the country is a key player on issues that require cross-border cooperation such as climate change and pandemics.

Diplomats hope that if Trump wins the presidency, Democrats in Congress will act as a check on his ambitions. In his previous 2016-2020 term they rejected his proposed cuts to peacekeeping and preserved some funding for climate agency UNFCCC.

However, the same U.K. diplomat suggested a Democrat-controlled Congress could only mitigate the pain — not block it entirely.

Allies of Trump have already begun work on a plan to leave the Paris climate agreement and make it much harder for a future Democratic president to rejoin it.

Dan Bloom and Karl Mathiesen contributed reporting.