Donald Trump ends Barack Obama 's U.N. policy . 
Republicans who criticized Mr. Obama 's approach to the United Nations , and America 's role in the world more broadly , praised Mr. Trump 's speech . 
President Obama ended his first speech to the United Nations with a call to respect universal rights and the U.N. itself , saying all nations owed an obligation to the international body . 
Democrats took the opposite view and cast Mr. Trump as reckless -- the opposite , they would argue , of the measured tone Mr. Obama consistently set . 
"Obama , at the end of the day , is a structuralist who believes that if you can get everybody into these international organizations and multilateral institutions that will promulgate norms of behavior that will condition states and prevent the need for conflict . 
He also derided the Obama administration 's nuclear deal with Iran , saying he is leaning toward pulling out of the agreement if the Islamic republic does n't cease sponsoring terrorism and fomenting discord in the Middle East . 
The United States stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation , one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations ," Mr. Obama said in the fall of 2009 . 
"There are not two presidents who represent the two poles of that more than Obama and Trump ," said James Carafano , vice president of foreign policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation . 
In the place of Mr. Obama 's carefully crafted oratory were "tweet-ready" quotes such as the "Rocket Man" line , the threat to destroy North Korea and calling the Iran nuclear deal embarrassing . 
By contrast , Mr. Obama came to the United Nations in 2013 , shortly after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rose to power , desperately seeking an agreement with the would-be nuclear power and devoting much of his address to the need for international cooperation and diplomacy . 
In addition to the president 's rhetoric , administration officials at the time were frantically trying to arrange a brief sideline meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani , attempting to secure a handshake that would signify the start of a relationship between the two decades-old foes . 
Contrasts can be drawn from Mr. Trump 's speech Tuesday and any of Mr. Obama 's addresses during his eight years in office . 
But few illustrate the difference as clearly as Mr. Obama 's first , in which he laid out a broad philosophy of breaking with the Bush administration 's interventionist foreign policy and recommitting America to the United Nations and other international groups . 
In his remarks , Mr. Obama came nowhere close to threatening Iran in the fashion Mr. Trump threatened North Korea . 
"I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran 's nuclear program , that can serve as a major step down a long road toward a different relationship , one based on mutual interests and mutual respect ," Mr. Obama said .
Republicans who criticized Mr. Obama 's approach to the United Nations , and America 's role in the world more broadly , praised Mr. Trump 's speech . 
President Obama ended his first speech to the United Nations with a call to respect universal rights and the U.N. itself , saying all nations owed an obligation to the international body . 
Democrats took the opposite view and cast Mr. Trump as reckless -- the opposite , they would argue , of the measured tone Mr. Obama consistently set . 
"Obama , at the end of the day , is a structuralist who believes that if you can get everybody into these international organizations and multilateral institutions that will promulgate norms of behavior that will condition states and prevent the need for conflict . 
He also derided the Obama administration 's nuclear deal with Iran , saying he is leaning toward pulling out of the agreement if the Islamic republic does n't cease sponsoring terrorism and fomenting discord in the Middle East . 
The United States stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation , one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations ," Mr. Obama said in the fall of 2009 . 
"There are not two presidents who represent the two poles of that more than Obama and Trump ," said James Carafano , vice president of foreign policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation . 
In the place of Mr. Obama 's carefully crafted oratory were "tweet-ready" quotes such as the "Rocket Man" line , the threat to destroy North Korea and calling the Iran nuclear deal embarrassing . 
By contrast , Mr. Obama came to the United Nations in 2013 , shortly after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rose to power , desperately seeking an agreement with the would-be nuclear power and devoting much of his address to the need for international cooperation and diplomacy . 
In addition to the president 's rhetoric , administration officials at the time were frantically trying to arrange a brief sideline meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani , attempting to secure a handshake that would signify the start of a relationship between the two decades-old foes . 
Contrasts can be drawn from Mr. Trump 's speech Tuesday and any of Mr. Obama 's addresses during his eight years in office . 
But few illustrate the difference as clearly as Mr. Obama 's first , in which he laid out a broad philosophy of breaking with the Bush administration 's interventionist foreign policy and recommitting America to the United Nations and other international groups . 
In his remarks , Mr. Obama came nowhere close to threatening Iran in the fashion Mr. Trump threatened North Korea . 
"I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran 's nuclear program , that can serve as a major step down a long road toward a different relationship , one based on mutual interests and mutual respect ," Mr. Obama said .