The United Nations is used to American leadership that rolls over.
Now, it faces its biggest crisis yet.
And UN globalists begged for mercy in this fight with Trump.
Trump's America First agenda cuts UN off from billions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a desperate letter to all 193 member states warning the organization faces "imminent financial collapse" by July 2026.
The UN ended 2025 with a record $1.568 billion in outstanding dues — more than double the amount from 2024.
Guterres didn't name names in his plea for cash, but everyone knows who he's talking about.
The United States owes approximately $2.2 billion to the UN, including $767 million for 2026 assessments.
Trump's administration didn't pay a single dollar in UN dues for all of 2025.
"Either all member states honor their obligations to pay in full and on time — or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse," Guterres wrote.
The UN chief claimed the organization might have to close its New York headquarters by August and cancel the annual September gathering of world leaders.
Guterres won't admit this crisis is entirely self-inflicted.
UN's bizarre budget rules created the disaster
The UN operates under a financial rule from 1945 that forces the organization to refund unspent money to member states even when those countries never paid their dues in the first place.
The UN makes a budget for various programs, then if a program doesn't get fully executed, they rebate the entire program budget back to member states who never sent the money.
Guterres called it a "Kafkaesque cycle" where the UN must return "unspent" funds that were never received.
This insane accounting practice drained whatever cash reserves the organization had left.
The UN collected only 76.7% of assessed contributions while being forced to credit back hundreds of millions in phantom refunds.
Trump isn't losing sleep over the UN's bookkeeping disasters.
America has been the UN's ATM since Reagan
President Reagan started withholding UN payments in the 1980s, forcing the organization to cut spending by 10% and lay off staff.
US arrears jumped from $12 million in 1984 to $86 million in 1985 as Reagan demanded fiscal austerity from the Secretary-General.
By the time Reagan left office, the US owed 78% of all UN regular budget arrears — a record $308 million.
The tactic worked because it forced the UN to adopt consensus-based budgeting that gave America effective veto power over spending.
Trump is using the same playbook but with a bigger hammer.
His administration withdrew the US from 66 international organizations in January 2026, including 31 UN-affiliated entities.
The targets include the UN Population Fund, UN Women, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and UNESCO.
Trump pulled out of the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement, and the UN Human Rights Council.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said these institutions "no longer serve the interests of the United States" and are "mismanaged, unnecessary, costly and ineffective."
The administration is taking an à la carte approach — paying only for UN operations that align with Trump's America First agenda while starving programs that push woke ideology and attack Israel.
UN bureaucrats face the consequences of decades of waste
The UN approved a $3.45 billion budget for 2026, down 7% from 2025, as the organization scrambles to cut costs.
That's still not enough to satisfy Trump.
The UN plans to eliminate 2,681 staff positions — an 18.8% reduction — and consolidate operations to lower-cost locations.
Special political missions face cuts of more than 21% as the UN closes offices and streamlines bloated staffing.
UN officials who spent years attacking America, shielding China from accountability, and promoting anti-Israel propaganda now panic as their cushy jobs disappear.
Guterres warned that without immediate payments, the organization will be forced into hiring freezes and further cutbacks that negatively affect mandate delivery.
Translation: UN bureaucrats might have to find real jobs.
Trump knows the UN has been a money pit that funds America's enemies while lecturing the West about colonialism and climate change.
The organization allowed known terrorist groups to infiltrate UNRWA, protected human rights abusers on the UN Human Rights Council, and demonstrated consistent anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.
More than 150 countries paid their 2025 dues in full, but China — the second-largest contributor at 20% of the core budget — drags its feet on payments despite lecturing America about obligations.
Russia blamed US sanctions for blocking its UN payments, calling it American hypocrisy to demand others pay while preventing Russian contributions.
The organization operated with minimal accountability for decades, knowing America would always bail them out rather than let the institution collapse.
Trump called their bluff.
Ad hoc groups of nations working under American leadership deliver better results than a bloated international bureaucracy filled with Third World kleptocracies.
Congress has legislation pending to permanently withdraw the United States from the entire UN system through the DEFUND Act sponsored by Representative Chip Roy and Senator Mike Lee.
The bill would completely defund the organization and prevent future presidents from unilaterally rejoining.
Trump hasn't gone that far yet, but his selective payment strategy achieves similar results while maintaining American influence where it matters.
The UN can reform itself and stop attacking Western interests or it can shut down for lack of cash.
Either outcome works for Trump and the American people who are tired of subsidizing an organization that hates them.
Sources:
- Associated Press, "United Nations faces 'imminent financial collapse' without urgent action, UN chief says," January 30, 2026.
- Fox News, "UN faces cash crisis by July, Secretary-General António Guterres warns," January 31, 2026.
- The White House, "Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States," January 2026.
- PBS News, "UN chief says the U.S. has 'legal obligation' to fund agencies after Trump's withdrawal order," January 2026.
- Global Policy Forum, "Background & History," archive.globalpolicy.org.
- Congressional Research Service, "For nearly a decade, both the UN regular…" October 2025.
