World leaders descend on New York for UNGA — but who really has America’s ear?

close Video Who has America’s ear? BGR Analytics chief breaks down global influence Frank Ahrens says countries arriving for UNGA are competing not only for meetings in New York, but for attention, visibility and influence across the United States. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Hören Sie sich diesen Artikel an 6 Min UNITED NATIONS, New York — More than 100 presidents and prime ministers will descend on New York this week for one of the busiest gatherings on the diplomatic calendar, arriving at a United Nations confronting wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, economic pressure from disrupted energy markets and fresh questions about the institution’s ability to respond to an increasingly fractured world. The U.N. expects 73 heads of state and 45 heads of government, alongside 49 ministers, 11 vice presidents and one crown prince, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters Friday. Member states have already submitted roughly 1,000 requests for bilateral meetings, while 168 events are scheduled during high-level week, according to Dujarric. Asked Friday to characterize the atmosphere inside U.N. headquarters as the delegations prepare to arrive, Dujarric described it simply as "high stress." INDIA'S MODI-IRAN MEETING COMES AMID US WARNINGS OF SANCTIONS ON TEHRAN'S TRADING PARTNERS President Donald Trump addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Sept. 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Mike Segar) The General Debate of the 81st U.N. General Assembly begins Tuesday, Sept. 22, under the theme, "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all." But beneath the speeches, motorcades and closed-door meetings across Manhattan is another competition: nearly every government represented in New York will be trying, in one way or another, to capture the attention of the United States. "This is their moment to grab a piece of American mindshare for sure," Frank Ahrens, head of BGR Analytics, told Fox News Digital. A new analysis released ahead of UNGA attempts to measure which countries already have it. The 2026 BGR Impact Index, produced by BGR Analytics, the data practice of Washington-based BGR Group, ranks 197 countries and economies according to their overall footprint in the United States, combining economic, cultural, diplomatic, institutional and geopolitical measures. Japan holds the top position for a third consecutive year, followed by Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. That competition is especially consequential this year. TRUMP THREATENS 'MAJOR MILITARY PUNISHMENT' FOR IRAN OVER FUTURE HOUTHI ATTACKS President Donald Trump during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (David Dee Delgado/Bloomberg via Getty Images) President Donald Trump will return to the General Assembly on Tuesday with the US-Iran war entering its seventh month, while fighting involving the Iran-backed Houthis has placed new pressure on shipping through the Red Sea and raised fresh concerns among Gulf states about regional security. Reuters reported Sept. 18 that European and Asian allies have largely resisted U.S. calls to become more directly involved in the Iran conflict and that the prolonged war has strained Washington’s relationships with some partners. The stakes extend well beyond Iran. The General Assembly agenda is expected to be dominated also by Russia’s war against Ukraine, Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Sudan, climate change and artificial intelligence. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are among the prominent leaders or representatives expected to speak. That combination of military power, diplomatic access and public perception gets at the central question behind BGR’s index: what does influence actually mean? BGR compiled more than 100 indicators, ranging from GDP, population and foreign investment to international students, cultural presence and lobbying activity in Washington. But one of the most consequential variables in this year’s analysis came from a much newer arena: social media. "We looked at 4.9 trillion pieces of data across an entire year because we know that a social media campaign can really move a country's perception in the U.S.," Ahrens said. "And that was really the big takeaway from this year's index." Social-media sentiment accounts for 20% of the index, second only to cultural imprint at 24%. Institutional ties and outward orientation each make up 16%, geopolitical nexus accounts for 10%, economic size 8% and lobbying and Washington influence 6%. BGR says its underlying data comes from publicly available sources, primarily the U.N., U.S. government agencies and established research institutions, while its social-media data is supplied by Meltwater. For smaller countries, the analysis suggests reputation can produce particularly large swings. Bahrain was the biggest riser, climbing 22 places, from No. 97 in 2024 to No. 75 in 2026. BGR attributed much of that increase to improved U.S.-facing online sentiment and increased visibility tied to Bahrain’s election to a rotating U.N. Security Council seat, its Arabian Gulf Cup victory and a USS Nimitz port call. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS MORE THAN $1B IN UN BUDGET CUTS AS REFORM PUSH GAINS MOMENTUM United Nations headquarters during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Al Drago) Georgia moved in the opposite direction, falling 31 positions, from No. 73 to No. 104. BGR said its deteriorating U.S.-facing online sentiment coincided with political unrest and arrests of journalists and opposition leaders. Ahrens acknowledged that generating attention is not the same as wielding political influence. "Countries that make a lot of noise about themselves do get on the radar, but to stay on the radar, you have to have real accomplishments." The index attempts to address that distinction by combining sentiment with harder measures such as economic links, institutional rankings, lobbying expenditure and participation in international organizations. Perhaps BGR’s most unusual example of how national perception can change did not come from a president, diplomat or lobbying operation. BGR calls it the "Freddy Effect," after a German World Cup visitor whose enthusiastic posts about traveling through the United States went viral this summer. Ahrens said BGR found that positive sentiment toward Germany increased 13% over roughly three weeks during Freddy’s rise online. BGR links a substantial part of that increase to the reaction generated by his posts, although the data does not independently establish that he alone caused the change. "Can you recreate a Freddy? I don't know if you can reverse engineer him to that effect," Ahrens said. "But what it shows you is how authentic communication really breaks through on social media." President Donald Trump (L) meets with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2025, in New York City. World leaders convened for the 80th Session of UNGA, with this year’s theme for the annual global meeting being "Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights." (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) It is a lesson that may resonate with delegations arriving in New York this week, where hundreds of leaders will have only a few days to secure meetings, shape headlines and make their country’s case. Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events. Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's degree in political science.