President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded an “fast investigation” into what he claimed was “triple sabotage” throughout his United Nations go to on Tuesday, citing a stopped escalator and a teleprompter that wasn’t working.
“A REAL DISGRACE occurred on the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, however three very sinister occasions!,” he posted on his social media platform, saying he was sending a letter to U.N. Secretary-Basic António Guterres.
“First, the escalator going as much as the Primary Talking Flooring got here to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. It is superb that Melania and I did not fall ahead onto the sharp edges of those metal steps, face first. It was solely that we have been every holding the handrail tightly or, it could have been a catastrophe,” he wrote.
“This was completely sabotage, as famous by a day’s earlier “publish” in The London Instances that mentioned UN staff “joked about turning off an escalator.” The folks that did it needs to be arrested!” he continued.
After complaining a few second difficulty — how his teleprompter did not work for the primary quarter-hour of his tackle — he claimed the audio within the Basic Meeting Corridor has been turned off.
“And third, after making the Speech, I used to be instructed that the sound was utterly off within the Auditorium the place the Speech was made, that World Leaders, except they used the interpreters’ earpieces, could not hear a factor,” he wrote. “The primary individual I noticed on the conclusion of the Speech was Melania, who was sitting proper up entrance. I mentioned, “How did I do?” And he or she mentioned, “I could not hear a phrase you mentioned.” This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage on the UN. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and first girl Melania Trump trip an escalator as they arrive to attend the eightieth United Nations Basic Meeting, in New York Metropolis, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
As Trump and spouse Melania stepped onto the escalator forward of his speech on Tuesday morning, it stopped shifting, prompting each of them to cease of their tracks.
The primary couple then proceeded to stroll up the escalator.
The U.N. has mentioned that there seems to have been no foul play.
However that clarification hasn’t glad White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt who vowed to resolve Tuesday’s incident..
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks throughout a press briefing on the White Home in Washington, Sept. 22, 2025.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
“If somebody on the UN deliberately stopped the escalator because the President and First Girl have been stepping on, they have to be fired and investigated instantly,” she mentioned in an X publish.
Leavitt repeated her warnings on Fox Information Tuesday evening, however did not present any proof that what occurred what deliberate.
“I do know that we’ve got individuals, together with United States Secret Service, who’re wanting into this to attempt to resolve it,” she mentioned.
At the beginning of his address, when his teleprompter wasn’t working, he complained about it on the time after which once more later within the day.
President Donald Trump addresses the eightieth session of the United Nations Basic Meeting, in New York Metropolis, Sept. 23, 2025.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photos
“The teleprompter was damaged and the escalator got here to a sudden halt as we have been using as much as the rostrum, however each of these occasions most likely made the speech extra fascinating than it could have been in any other case. It’s all the time an honor to talk on the United Nations, even when, their tools is considerably defective,” Trump posted on his social media platform Tuesday.
The United Nations issued an announcement in regards to the incident, saying that the escalator stopping may need been triggered by a security characteristic as a videographer was standing backward on the escalator, forward of the president, whereas making an attempt to movie him.
“The security mechanism is designed to stop individuals or objects by accident being caught and caught in or pulled into the gearing. The videographer could have inadvertently triggered the security perform described above,” the U.N. assertion mentioned.
“Our technician, who was on the location, reset the escalator as quickly because the delegation had climbed as much as the second ground. A subsequent investigation, together with a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in security mechanism on the comb step was triggered on the prime of the escalator,” the U.N. assertion continued. “The security mechanism is designed to stop individuals or objects by accident being caught and caught in or pulled into the gearing. The videographer could have inadvertently triggered the security perform described above.”
“All safety tapes on the escalator needs to be saved, particularly the emergency cease button. The Secret Service is concerned,” Trump wrote in Wednesday’s publish.
The U.N. has not instantly supplied particulars about Trump’s teleprompter or the audio within the Basic Meeting Corridor.
