U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed he was a victim of “triple sabotage” at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Trump accused UN officials of deliberately targeting and humiliating him at Tuesday’s event and called for those involved to be arrested.
His scathing statement released on Wednesday was at odds with the UN’s version of events, with the international body blaming Trump’s team for the reported issues.
Highlights
- Trump accused UN officials of 'triple sabotage' during his UN speech, involving escalator failure, teleprompter blackout, and sound shutdown.
- The UN denies sabotage, blaming Trump's team for escalator and teleprompter issues, attributing the escalator halt to a videographer triggering safety measures.
- Trump demanded an investigation into the incidents, including security footage and cooperation from the UN and U.S. authorities.
- U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz called the events 'outrageous failures' that compromise safety, security, and America’s message at the UN.
Donald Trump claimed the UN triple-sabotaged him this week
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump claims that staffers targeted an escalator when he and First Lady Melania arrived at the New York headquarters, forcing the pair to climb the broken machinery.
The White House earlier referenced a report in The Times that said UN staffers had joked about turning off the escalators and elevators when Trump arrived.
According to a UN statement, the emergency safety mechanism was most likely triggered by Trump’s videographer, who rushed ahead to get footage of the president arriving.
At the start of his speech, which ran for an hour despite a 15-minute time allocation, Trump’s teleprompter wasn’t working.
Image credits: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
The UN says the White House is in charge of operating the president’s teleprompter, not its staffers.
The third act of “sabotage” referenced by Trump was that during his speech, the sound was reportedly shut off in the auditorium.
Trump has now demanded the security tapes around the escalator and said the Secret Service has launched an investigation.
He described the three “very sinister events” as a disgrace in a Truth Social post.
“First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime,” Trump wrote.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“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.”
He added: “Then, as I stood before a Television crowd of millions of people all over the World, and important Leaders in the Hall, my teleprompter didn’t work. It was stone cold dark.”
Of the third act of “sabotage,” Trump said, “After making the Speech, 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.”
Trump described asking Melania, who was sitting up front, how his speech went, and said she told him, “I couldn’t hear a word you said.”
“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said.
Trump wrote to UN Secretary General António Guterres to demand an investigation
The president has demanded an immediate UN investigation and has sent a copy of his letter to Secretary General António Guterres.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Guterres, confirmed that the UN had received Trump’s letter and would cooperate with an investigation.
“This evening, the Secretary-General received correspondence from the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations regarding events that transpired during President Trump’s visit to UN headquarters on 23 September,” Dujarric said in a statement.
“The Secretary-General informed the US Permanent Mission that he had already ordered a thorough investigation, and he conveyed that the UN is ready to cooperate in full transparency with relevant U.S. authorities on this matter to determine what caused the incidents referred to by the United States.”
Image credits: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz described the three incidents as a “series of outrageous failures” in a post on X, as he too demanded answers.
Waltz called for the results of the UN’s internal investigation into the escalator malfunction and a detailed explanation of the teleprompter failure’s root cause.
He also claimed that Trump’s speech was interrupted with Portuguese interpretation and asked for clarity on why this happened, saying it “compromised” the delivery of America’s message.
“These lapses are unacceptable and symptomatic of a broken institution that pose serious safety and security risks,” Waltz wrote.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“The United States will not tolerate threats to our security or dignity at international forums. We expect swift cooperation and decisive action,” he added.
Trump used his speech at the UN to sharply criticize Europe over immigration, as well as make unfounded claims that London was trying to introduce Sharia Law.
The president told Europeans that their countries were “going to hell” and also claimed that climate change was a hoax made up by stupid people.