Donald Trump is demanding an investigation and arrests after claiming a broken elevator could have left he and First Lady Melania Trump gravely injured at the United Nations‘ General Assembly.
He also claimed that he was the victim of ‘triple sabotage’ during his Tuesday trip to the UN, pointing to the escalator incident, a broken teleprompter and how those in the assembly hall, including First Lady Melania, could barely hear him.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday – Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!’
He said that given the escalator incident, it’s ‘amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster.’
Echoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who had cited a report in the Sunday Times that said UN staff had joked about turning the escalators and elevators off to prank the president, Trump referred to the escalator incident as ‘absolutely sabotage.’
‘The people that did it should be arrested!’ Trump said.
He was also furious about the audio quality for his speech, confirmed by his wife, who said bluntly remarked she couldn’t understand him after the address.
‘I was told that the sound was completely off in the Auditorium where the Speech was made, that World Leaders, unless they used the interpreters’ earpieces, couldn’t hear a thing. The first person I saw at the conclusion of the Speech was Melania, who was sitting right up front. I said, “How did I do?” And she said, “I couldn’t hear a word you said.”‘
President Donald Trump (left) and First Lady Melania Trump (right) got stuck on a broken escalator and had to walk up the metal stairs when arriving at the UN General Assembly ahead of the president’s address Tuesday morning
President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he and First Lady Melania Trump could have taken ‘sharp edges of these steel steps’ to their faces when the UN’s escalator stopped – and claimed his teleprompter and the audio during his speech were sabotaged
A UN official told the Daily Mail that the audio was set up that way by design.
‘The sound system was designed to allow people at their seats to hear speeches being translated into six different languages through earpieces. It has been like this for decades,’ the official said.
It appears nobody told the president or first lady about this ahead of time.
He also spoke about the Teleprompter not working, saying it went ‘stone cold dark’ as he went to address his fellow leaders.
‘I then proceeded to make a Speech without a teleprompter, which kicked in about 15 minutes later. The good news is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews. Maybe they appreciated the fact that very few people could have done what I did.’
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told the Daily Mail Wednesday morning that the White House was operating Trump’s teleprompter at the time.
The president also charged that the audio wasn’t piping out to the audience when he was delivering his speech to the body.
However, Trump said that all of this ‘wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN.’
He finished: ‘They ought to be ashamed of themselves. I’m sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary General, and I demand an immediate investigation. No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do. All security tapes at the escalator should be saved, especially the emergency stop button. The Secret Service is involved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
President Donald Trump’s teleprompter wasn’t working at the beginning of his speech to the UN General Assembly – which the UN says the White House was operating – and he says the volume of his speech was deliberately kept low
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) can be seen wearing an earpiece as he listened to President Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday morning at the UN General Assembly. A UN official told the Daily Mail that the volume is kept low so speeches can be simultaneously translated
The president said he was writing a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres, asking him to investigate the matter.
He asked that all security tapes be saved.
The White House previously confirmed that the Secret Service was looking into the escalator incident – however the Secret Service has not responded to the Daily Mail’s additional request for comment.
In a statement Tuesday, Dujarric said that Trump’s videographer, who can be seen boarding the escalator several seconds before the first couple, likely triggered an emergency stop.
The videographer was seen walking backward up the steps.
‘A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator,’ Dujarric said.
‘The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing,’ he said. ‘The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above.’
The UN’s technician reset the escalator ‘as soon as the delegation had climbed up to the second floor,’ Dujarric also said.
First Lady Melania Trump watched President Donald Trump speak Tuesday at the UN General Assembly. The president said Wednesday night that she told him she could barely hear his remarks, which he said counted as ‘sabotage’
The White House’s videographer can be seen riding the escalator backward as he films President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving at the UN. A UN spokesperson said that he may have ‘inadvertently triggered the safety function’
The escalator was observed by the Daily Mail working properly the rest of the morning.
A White House spokesperson wouldn’t say Wednesday morning if Trump administration officials believed the UN’s explanation.
During his speech, Trump used the broken escalator and teleprompter to make a broader point that the UN was broken.
‘I ended seven wars, dealt with leaders of each country, and never even received a call from the UN offering to help in finalizing the deal,’ Trump complained.
‘The United Nations wasn’t there for us. They weren’t there. I thought of it after the fact, not during these negotiations…what is the purpose of the UN? It’s not even coming close to living up to that potential,’ he said.
‘These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,’ the president then said.
He reiterated those comments Wednesday night.
‘No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
And despite any audio issues, Trump boasted that the fiery speech was a success.
‘The good news is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews,’ he said. ‘Maybe they appreciated the fact that very few people could have done what I did.’
