Macky Sall, former president of Senegal and a leading candidate to become the next United Nations secretary-general, is positioning himself as a reformer who would align with President Trump's vision for the global body, including adopting the slogan "Make the UN Great Again" — or MUNGA.

Sall, who served 12 years as Senegal's president and led the African Union from 2022 to 2023, said in an interview with Breitbart that he has witnessed U.N. waste firsthand during his time in Africa. He cast himself as uniquely positioned to enact reforms if elected secretary-general, noting he could cut costs and optimize management.

The current U.N. secretary-general, António Guterres of Portugal, will leave office in 2027 after serving since 2017. During that period, the world has faced the COVID-19 pandemic and major conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza — challenges critics say have exposed bureaucratic inefficiencies within the organization.

Hugh Dugan, who served as a U.S. delegate to the U.N. for 26 years and advised 11 American ambassadors, said the MUNGA slogan — first coined by Trump's U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz — has become a familiar rallying cry at the global body. Dugan currently leads Multilateral Accountability Associates, a nonprofit focused on holding international organizations accountable.

Dugan noted that many member states share frustrations about U.N. bureaucracy, describing it as "still operating with an abacus when everybody else is on a supercomputer." He said there is broad support for the next secretary-general to demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency.

What the Right Is Saying

Supporters of the MUNGA approach argue that the U.N. genuinely needs reform after decades of bureaucratic expansion without corresponding accountability. They point to ongoing peacekeeping failures, bloated administrative costs, and resolutions that critics say lack enforcement mechanisms.

Conservative analysts note that Trump has remained engaged with the U.N. despite his rhetorical critiques — pointing to his recent decision to resume $1.8 billion in U.S. funding for humanitarian operations as evidence of continued American commitment rather than withdrawal from the institution.

Republican foreign policy voices argue that having a secretary-general sympathetic to reform could strengthen cooperation between Washington and the global body, particularly on issues like counterterrorism and peacekeeping where interests align. They contend that conditional funding tied to measurable reforms is pragmatic diplomacy, not abandonment of multilateralism.

Dugan framed Sall as someone who "can demonstrate effectiveness" in the role, noting his experience working with diverse international partners during his African Union leadership. He said the next secretary-general will need support from P5 Security Council members — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom — to be effective.

What the Left Is Saying

Progressive critics of the MUNGA movement argue that framing international cooperation through Trump's political brand risks undermining multilateral institutions that have been foundational to global stability since World War II. They note that the U.N.'s ability to convene 193 member states — including adversaries — is itself a diplomatic achievement, and that demanding conditional funding could erode American soft power.

Human rights advocates warn that positioning a Trump-aligned candidate as the favored choice could signal willingness to sidestep human rights scrutiny in exchange for political alignment with Washington. They argue that secretary-general candidates should be evaluated on their commitment to international law, not their embrace of nationalist slogans.

Progressive foreign policy experts contend that characterizing the U.N. as a "deep state" target misrepresents an organization where member states — including democracies and authoritarian regimes alike — set the agenda through consensus. They caution that treating the secretary-general position as a vehicle for any single country's domestic political branding could damage the body's perceived neutrality.

What the Numbers Show

The U.N. operates with an annual regular budget of approximately $3.4 billion and a peacekeeping budget that varies by mission load, typically running several billion dollars annually. The United States is the largest contributor, historically providing about 22% of the regular budget and roughly 27% of peacekeeping costs.

Guterres has served as secretary-general for nearly a decade — the first to hold two five-year terms since the role was established in 1945. His tenure has coincided with significant challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic required unprecedented global coordination, while ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have tested the Security Council's ability to respond collectively.

Sall received the African Union's rotating presidency in 2022, overseeing continental diplomacy during that period. He served as Senegal's president from 2012 to 2024 before leaving office. No African has held the secretary-general position since Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt served from 1992 to 1996.

The P5 Security Council members hold veto power over substantive resolutions, meaning any secretary-general candidate must avoid antagonizing Washington, Beijing, Moscow, London or Paris — a balance that requires diplomatic nuance regardless of reformist rhetoric.

The Bottom Line

The race for the next U.N. secretary-general is entering its early phase with António Guterres not departing until 2027, but candidates are already positioning themselves. Sall's embrace of Trump's political branding represents an unusual intersection of American domestic politics and international diplomacy.

The next secretary-general will need to navigate deep skepticism from Washington while maintaining relationships with other major powers — a challenge complicated by ongoing conflicts where U.S. interests and traditional multilateral approaches sometimes diverge. Whoever succeeds Guterres will face pressure to demonstrate tangible reforms within the first years of their term.

What to watch: Whether other candidates emerge with competing reform visions, how P5 members signal preferences publicly, and whether Sall's MUNGA framing gains traction among broader membership or remains a message tailored primarily for Washington audiences.