United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has described President Donald Trump’s efforts to steer the UN back toward what he calls its core post–World War II mission of promoting peace. In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Waltz emphasized pursuing an America First–aligned reform agenda, including defunding programs he deems non‑essential and pushing other countries to share more of the security burden.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, detailed in an interview with The Daily Wire how the Trump administration aims to "save" the UN by returning it, in his view, to its founding purpose of preventing major conflicts.
"You’re supposed to be stopping wars, ending wars, preventing wars," Waltz said, according to The Daily Wire. "That was the establishment of the UN and its purpose after World War II to prevent any other future world wars. And yet here we are 80 years later and we have more conflicts around the globe than ever."
Waltz argued against abandoning the UN altogether, saying the organization can be reformed to serve U.S. interests and to press other nations to contribute more to peacekeeping and security operations. He cited as an example current efforts to combat gangs in Haiti, which he said have shifted from being primarily U.S.-led to involving other countries such as Kenya. "Sharing the burden and having a mechanism where everyone can come in and do that is also important," he said. "We’ve just got to get it back focused on those peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions that they did so well in the past and that they strayed from in recent decades."
In the interview, Waltz called for defunding or stepping back from UN agencies and programs he views as misaligned with American interests. He pointed to the Trump administration’s decisions to leave and defund the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza — which he described as "completely infiltrated by Hamas" — and certain UN human rights bodies he says "cater" to countries such as North Korea, Venezuela and Iran. "It’s really about focusing our effort on the parts that align with an America First agenda and defunding and walking away from the rest of it — the nonsense," he said.
Waltz also criticized what he described as a proliferation of UN entities devoted to climate change. "At most you need one, if not none, but you definitely don’t need seven," he said, arguing that the administration is pushing a reform agenda that trims or defunds such programs.
By contrast, he said some UN-linked agencies remain essential to U.S. interests, citing telecommunications, global shipping and civil aviation as areas where common standards are critical. "When I land, when flying internationally, I want everybody speaking English," Waltz said. "Landing the planes the same way, the mechanics train the same way. We want them aligned with our standards, not China or Russia’s standards."
Waltz highlighted what he described as early successes for the Trump administration within the UN system, saying the organization has agreed to cut over 2,600 bureaucratic positions, reduce its overall budget by 15%, and trim about 25% of its peacekeepers worldwide. These figures were presented as achievements of the current U.S. strategy rather than independently verified financial data.
Despite his criticism of many UN programs, Waltz emphasized the organization’s continuing value as a global diplomatic forum. "We should have one place in the world where everybody can talk, where everyone can come together and at least try to hammer things out using diplomacy, either to end wars or prevent wars," he said, adding that he wants that platform to remain American-led and based in the United States rather than in capitals such as Beijing or Moscow.
Waltz said a major focus of his work is to press the UN to do more to stop the persecution of Christians worldwide. He credited Trump with putting a spotlight on the issue and cited non-governmental organizations that, he said, estimate that a large majority of persecuted and killed Christians are in Nigeria. According to The Daily Wire’s account of the interview, Waltz said that "according to most NGOs, 80% of Christians that are killed and persecuted actually happens in Nigeria," a figure that reflects his characterization of advocacy reports rather than a consensus statistic across all monitoring groups.
The ambassador also praised rapper Nicki Minaj for using her large social-media following to support efforts to draw attention to Christian persecution in Nigeria. The Daily Wire reported that Waltz lauded her for advocating alongside him at the UN the previous month, calling their collaboration an "unlikely pairing" but one he believes can help spur action.
Waltz acknowledged that serving as Washington’s representative at the UN can be contentious, given frequent clashes with diplomats from adversarial governments. He recalled one incident in which the Cuban ambassador disrupted one of his speeches and accused him of lying. A former Green Beret, Waltz described the post as demanding but important. "There are times where I think the tribes in the Middle East, Afghanistan are easier than here," he said, noting that, despite the challenges, he views the UN in New York as a crucial stage for advancing U.S. policy.
