But this was the first time that Mr. Trump has directly accused China of interfering in American politics in an effort to challenge him. And it is at odds with his repeated comments that he has a strong relationship with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who presumably has had a strong hand in each of the retaliatory actions taken by Beijing. A month ago, the director of national intelligence, Dan Coates, warned that the “system is blinking red” for the coming elections. But he was referring chiefly to fears of Russian activity, his aides said at the time, and he made almost no mention of China. —DAVID E. SANGER Trump turns down meeting with Trudeau During a news conference, President Trump confirmed that he rejected a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and slammed Canada for recent disagreements over trade. “Frankly, we are thinking about just taxing cars that are coming in from Canada,” Mr. Trump said. “We are very unhappy with the negotiations — with the negotiating style — of Canada.” He went on to criticize Canada’s negotiations over the Nafta trade deal — an agreement he called “very bad for the U.S.” — and the recent tariffs put in place on American-made products. “Canada has treated us very badly, they have treated our farmers in Wisconsin and New York State very badly,” he said. “So Canada has a long way to go, I must be honest with you, we are not getting along with their negotiators at all.” While he did not rule out the prospect of a new trade deal with Canada, he said it would probably be very different from what the Canadians are seeking. — MEGAN SPECIA<doc-sep>UNITED NATIONS -- Even as world leaders step up to the podium at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the lion's share of attention will be down the hall, where President Trump will be chairing the Security Council. It will be his first experience in leading a session of the U.N.'s most powerful body, where the U.S. currently holds the rotating presidency - a perch it's using to double down on its criticism of Iran. While Wednesday's council meeting will be on the issue of nonproliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, Mr. Trump has left little doubt that it'll be another chance to target Tehran. On Tuesday, during an unabashedly "America First" speech, he said Iranian leaders "sow chaos, death and destruction" and "spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond." His national security adviser, John Bolton, warned there would be "hell to pay" if Tehran crossed the U.S., its allies or their partners. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded by accusing the Trump administration of violating the rules of international law and "state obligations" by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with the U.S. and five other major powers. Rouhani is almost certain not to attend the Security Council meeting that will test Mr. Trump's ability to maintain diplomatic decorum and interact with representatives of rival nations. Mr. Trump's Tuesday speech drew headshakes and even mocking laughter from his audience of fellow world leaders. "The U.S. will not tell you how to live and work or worship," he said as he unapologetically promoted his "America First" agenda. "We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return." Speaking in glowing terms, Mr. Trump approached his address to the world body as something of an annual report to the world on his country's progress since his inauguration. He showcased strong economic numbers, declared that the U.S. military is "more powerful than it has ever been before" and crowed that in "less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country." Just sentences into the president's remarks, the audience began to chuckle and some leaders broke into outright laughter, suggesting the one-time reality television star's puffery is as familiar abroad as it is at home. Mr. Trump appeared briefly flustered, then smiled and said it was not the reaction he expected "but that's all right." Later, the president scolded Germany for relying on Russian fossil fuels. "Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course," Mr. Trump said. "Here in the Western hemisphere we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers." Even as he took a swipe at them, German diplomats were seen laughing in the audience. Later he brushed off the episode, telling reporters, "Oh it was great. Well, that was meant to get some laughter, so it was great." The leaders' spontaneous response to Mr. Trump's address only reinforced the American president's isolation among allies and foes alike, as his nationalistic policies have created rifts with erstwhile partners and cast doubt in some circles about the reliability of American commitments around the world. The Security Council is populated by five permanent members - the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France - and 10 other member states, who occupy a council seat for two-year terms. Iran isn't among them. Business will continue Wednesday at the General Assembly, where for a second day, 193 U.N. members take turns to speak out on pressing world issues and their national priorities in world affairs. Among those tentatively scheduled to speak are the leaders of Panama, Iraq, Colombia, Afghanistan and Cuba. One-hundred-thirty-three 133 world leaders have signed up to attend this year's assembly session, which ends Oct. 1, a significant increase from the 114 leaders last year. However, America's go-it-alone attitude and growing divisions among key world powers risk eroding the U.N.'s ability to bring positive change in global affairs and end conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump accused China of meddling in the 2018 elections in order to hurt him Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Trump claimed, without offering evidence, that China was attempting to interfere with the upcoming midterm congressional elections. “Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November, against my Administration,” he said. “They do not want me, or us, to win, because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade, and we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level. We don’t want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election.” Over the summer, Republicans in Congress introduced legislation that would require an unclassified report on Chinese political influence operations in the United States, driven in part by heightened concern over Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In August, National Security Advisor John Bolton argued that China, Iran, North Korea and Russia may be seeking to meddle in the 2018 elections, arguing that they are a “national security concern.” Trump echoed those comments on Twitter. In recent months, China has responded to the Trump Administration’s stricter moves on trade with tariffs that target some key Trump voters, such as soybean farmers in the Midwest. Speaking with reporters Wednesday afternoon, a senior Administration official cited the targeted tariffs, bureaucratic moves that make it harder for journalists to report in China and attempts to limit the academic freedom of Chinese students studying on American campuses, among other things, as part of this electoral interference. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, later addressed council on what he called the “unwarranted accusations against China” by saying that Beijing has a policy of “non-interference” in other countries’ “domestic affairs.” During discussions of Russian meddling, Trump has long argued that other countries might have also meddled, including China, or that Russia might not have interfered at all. “I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC,” he said during the first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton in 2016. “She’s saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don’t — maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?” — With W.J. Hennigan/Washington Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Contact us at letters@time.com.<doc-sep>
President Donald Trump will follow up a laughter-inducing UN General Assembly address with a much more serious session when he sits down as the president of the UN Security Council in a talk that promises fireworks. The US currently holds the rotating spot as Security Council president, so Trump will be front and center in setting global security policy on Wednesday. Trump is expected to keep up his attack on Iran, which he and his top officials have slammed in recent speeches. President Donald Trump will follow up a laughter-inducing UN General Assembly address with a much more serious session on Wednesday when he sits down as the president of the UN Security Council in a talk that promises fireworks. Trump's UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, remarked that it "is going to be the most watched Security Council meeting ever." On Tuesday, Trump's speech took a hard line on Iran that criticized the theocratic regime's behavior while expressing support for its people that live under strict Islamic law. Trump stopped just short of calling for regime change in Iran, but his top diplomat and security adviser gave more ominous messages. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out European allies for working together to bypass US sanctions on Iran with a kind of bartering deal they're working on by saying Europe was "solidifying Iran’s ranking as the number one state sponsor of terror." National Security Adviser John Bolton directly addressed recent Iranian military threats, saying "there will be hell to pay" if Iran makes good on threats of military force against the US or its allies as sanctions on its oil exports draw near. On Wednesday, Trump is expected to continue this line of attack against Iran, whose leaders he said "sow chaos, death, and destruction" as he simultaneously tweeted his willingness to meet with those same leaders. Iran, neither a fixed nor temporary member of the Security Council, is not expected to attend the meeting. Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, which six countries signed on to in 2015, in May 2018. Since then, the US has reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iran remains in the deal that forbid its nuclear weapons ambitions, but has refused further negotiations with the US. On November 4, the US will impose sanctions on Iran's oil exports, which represent a huge chunk of its income.