Trump caps week with Ryder Cup appearance after UN speech, Zelenskyy meeting

President Donald Trump capped a busy week with a trip to Farmingdale, New York, to attend the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Course after delivering remarks at the United Nations General Assembly and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He arrived in the New York area Friday and appeared on site with his granddaughter Kai as part of a weekend itinerary that also included other public appearances in the city. The sequence underscored a week in which Trump mixed foreign policy criticism with a high-profile return to the public eye on a golf course loaded with political symbolism.

At the United Nations General Assembly, Trump warned that Europe faced a crisis tied to illegal immigration and warned that open borders were a failed experiment. He said, “Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe. Nobody is ever. And nobody’s doing anything to change it.” He argued that the United Nations should play a different role, saying, “The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them.” He added that the United States would not permit mass numbers of foreign nationals to travel across oceans, trample borders, or deplete social safety nets, framing his stance as a reassertion that “America belongs to the American people.”

The speech also touched on security and defense, with Trump saying that NATO allies should take stronger action in airspace violations, and he tied U.S. policy to broader questions about Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. He asserted that the alliance should respond decisively to incursions, framing the issue in terms of collective defense and sovereignty. The remarks followed his distrustful critique of multilateral institutions and their capacity to manage regional conflicts, reflecting a recurring theme of his public diplomacy during the UN address.

Following the speech, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy later described the relationship as having improved, noting in media remarks that cooperation between their governments had strengthened. In a post circulated after their meeting and conversations about the war with Russia, Trump said Ukraine, with the backing of the European Union, could recapture all of its territory. He wrote on Truth Social that, after understanding the Ukraine-Russia military and economic dynamic and the impact on Russia, Ukraine, with time and substantial European and NATO support, could regain “the original borders.” He also suggested that Europe’s financial support and the cohesion of NATO were critical to pursuing that objective.

Trump also used the UN platform to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the United Nations in managing border and security challenges, arguing that the global body should focus more on preventing invasions rather than enabling them. His remarks drew a mix of agreement and skepticism from international leaders, and they formed a key centerpiece of his week’s messaging as he pivoted back to a campaign-style mode while in New York.

By Friday afternoon, Trump had returned his focus to the United States’ domestic stage, traveling to Bethpage Black Course for the Ryder Cup. He attended the event with his granddaughter Kai, a moment that drew attention from photographers and onlookers who followed the day’s schedule as part of a broader New York footprint that also included his earlier appearances at the U.S. Open men’s final and a New York Yankees game on Sept. 11. The Ryder Cup appearance provided a different setting for the former president to project a blend of presidential optics and personal family moments, while still featuring his characteristic style of public involvement in major national and international events.

As the week concluded, Trump’s public schedule highlighted a pattern of high-visibility appearances in New York that have become a staple of his political and public presence. His remarks at the UN General Assembly and his meeting with Zelenskyy followed by a major sporting event presence illustrate a blend of foreign policy commentary and domestic celebrity politics that has characterized his public posture in recent years.

The days in New York came during a period of intense attention to U.S. political rhetoric on immigration, defense, international alliances, and Ukraine’s war with Russia. Trump’s allies have framed these positions as a defensible stance on sovereignty, borders, and national security, while critics have cautioned about the global consequences of unilateral policy proposals and the potential for escalations in international conflicts. The interplay between Trump’s UN address, his discussions with Zelenskyy, and his Ryder Cup appearance marks a distinctive convergence of policy messaging and symbolic leadership during a high-profile week in New York.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital, covering the White House.