Trump attacks Chinese exports of 'pathetic' wind turbines in UN speech

Trump launched into typically fact-free tirade against wind farms and renewable energy at annual UN summit in New York

US President Donald Trump addresses the United Nations (UN) General Assembly during the 80th session of the annual event today in New York.
US President Donald Trump addresses the United Nations (UN) General Assembly during the 80th session of the annual event today in New York.Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has attacked China over the country’s increasing export of wind turbines, falsely claiming that they “barely use them” domestically and calling the machines “pathetic" in a typically rambling speech at the UN General Assembly.

Trump launched into a typically fact-free tirade against the wind industry while speaking today at the annual UN summit in New York.

Under his watch, Trump claimed the US is now getting rid of what he said are “falsely named renewables” – offering no clarity on what he believes is ‘false’ about them – and is now “thriving like never before” when it comes to energy.

Trump said that renewables “are a joke. They don’t work. They are too expensive. They are not strong enough to fire up plants you need to make your country great.”

There is no evidence for any of these claims. Many countries run stable grids that are largely powered by renewable energy and the International Renewable Energy Agency recently published statistics showing that onshore wind in particular trounces fossil fuel alternatives when it comes to levelised cost of electricity.

“The wind doesn't blow,” he claimed, bafflingly, before venturing that wind turbines are “so pathetic and so bad.”

He also claimed that wind turbines have to be “rebuilt all the time,” when in fact they typically function for several decades before needing replacement.

Proving the old adage that even a broken clock is right twice a day, Trump correctly noted that "most [wind turbines] are built in China.” He then however followed this up with the bizarre claim that the Chinese “barely use” wind power domestically.

China is the runaway world leader in installation of wind farms, adding a record amount of new wind power capacity last year, bringing its total domestic capacity to 520GW as of January.

Trump said that China will “use almost anything but they don't like wind,” adding that they “sure as hell like selling the windmills.”

Chinese wind giants are ramping up their efforts to sell wind turbines internationally, with manufacturers including Mingyang and Sany entering breakthrough agreements in recent weeks to sell turbines in several Western European countries.
The US government has reportedly warned the UK over the use of Chinese turbines, amid industry concern that they could present a security threat. China and its manufacturers have fiercely denied this.
Trump may have been in a particularly sour mood regarding the wind industry as his war on domestic offshore wind projects was dealt a high-profile setback on Monday, when a federal court ordered that a stop-work order against a major Orsted project be lifted.
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Published 23 September 2025, 17:23Updated 23 September 2025, 17:23
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