Michael Goodwin: Trumps bullish United Nations speech showed he wont back down and now he can truly put America First

People not fully schooled in the ways of Donald Trump might have expected to watch a somewhat chastened and shrunken president address the United Nations Tuesday morning.After all, the war in Iran has fallen far short of his promise of a quick and decisive victory.And because the American economy has been battered by rising prices on food, fuel and pretty much everything else, polls are unanimous in saying the president is hemorrhaging support and predicting his party will get thrashed in the midterm elections.But the Trump who spoke for almost 40 minutes from the General Assembly podium was anything but chastened and shrunken.

With the world’s eyes on him, he was as bullish as ever on America, the war against Iran and the distinctive differences his presidency has achieved at home and around the world.In a key sequence aimed at both domestic and foreign audiences, he boasted that “While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them.

While others have talked of courage, America has shown it.While others have promised strength, I have used it to make America the most powerful country in the world.”He added that, while “Working with many nations in this room, we are solving decades of intractable challenges — and we are settling years of unfinished business.”As sweeping as those claims were, they mere prelude to his main point: that Iran was and is the best example of a dangerous problem that gathered strength because others refused to stop it.

It was the first of many direct punches he would throw at his Oval Office predecessors, the UN and its members.After correctly calling Iran “the world’s number one sponsor of terror,” he said, “From the first day I entered the political arena, I have been unwavering — I will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”The boast has the advantage of being absolutely true because Iran and its terror proxies were main targets of his first campaign and first term in the White House.At the time, the I...