This archive report was first published on 7 June 2020.
On June 7, 2020, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe addressed the United Nations General Assembly, where he took US President Donald Trump to task on both policy and appearance.
Mugabe, a 93-year-old veteran leader, did not mince words, mocking Trump as the 'Giant Gold Goliath' and criticizing his policies, including his plan to withdraw the United States from the Paris accord on climate change.
Addressing the assembly, Mugabe said, "Some of us were, if not frightened, by what appeared to be the return of the biblical Giant Gold Goliath." He asked, "Are we having a return of Goliath to our midst, who threatens the extinction of other countries?"
Trump had stunned long-time UN watchers on Tuesday by threatening to "totally destroy" North Korea, describing its leader Kim Jong-Un as "Rocket Man." Mugabe voiced particular concern over Trump's plan to withdraw the United States from the Paris accord on climate change.
He urged cooperation "in order to halt the inexorable march towards the destruction of that upon which our own existence depends."
