LAST UPDATE | 25 Sep

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has accused staff at the UN building in New York of sabotaging his recent speech to the General Assembly. 

In a post on his Truth Social platform yesterday, Trump described three technical malfunctions as “triple sabotage” and said he had sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres demanding an investigation.

Trump also said the Secret Service was involved. 

As he and his wife Melania made their way to the General Assembly hall on Tuesday, the escalator they were on stopped working. 

Then, when he began his speech, he noticed the teleprompter was blank. 

And finally, after the speech he said he asked his wife how it went, to which she replied she couldn’t hear a word. 

“The people that did it should be arrested!” Trump said referring to the escalator. 

“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.”

Trump's Truth Social post Truth Social Truth Social

During his UN speech, Trump took aim at the institution and accused it of being ineffective. This year the US withdrew most of its funding for UN agencies and its use of the veto at the UN Security council is often pointed to as the main obstacle to its proper functioning.  

A UN spokesman said the mishap happened because someone in front of Trump accidentally set off a safety mechanism on the escalator, causing it to shut down.

AFP reporters said escalators at UN headquarters in New York were frequently out of order. 

Trump already railed against the UN the day before, saying the technical issues were “absolutely sabotage”. 

If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately.

The Times reported this on Sunday.👇 pic.twitter.com/NitsWbGYG0

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 23, 2025

Trump continued: “The people that did it should be arrested! 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. I immediately thought to myself, “Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?” I then proceeded to make a Speech without a teleprompter, which kicked in about 15 minutes later,” he said, adding,  ”The good news is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews.”

Yesterday, as the malfunction occurred, Trump had said, “Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”

Trump’s escalator stopped as soon as he stepped onto it, then his teleprompter goes out right when he starts his speech.

No way those were accidents.

I’d bet UN staff (which wouldn’t have jobs without our taxes) conspired to embarrass President Trump. pic.twitter.com/0sHqlVbymy

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) September 23, 2025

He then went on to – apparently jokingly – link the two incidents to what he said were the UN’s multiple failings, including a lack of support for his peace efforts in a series of conflicts.

“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations,” Trump said.

In his message tonight, Trump said that he learned of the third “sinister event” as he rejoined his wife Melania at the conclusion of the speech, who was sitting at the front of the auditorium. 

“I said, “How did I do?” And she said, “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.”

He said it’s “no wonder” the UN hasn’t been able to “do the job that they were put in existence to do” and that the Secret Service is involved.

The United Nations insisted there were simple explanations for the initial two malfunctions, but have yet to comment on the third. 

A videographer filming the US delegation’s arrival “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function” on the escalator, while the teleprompter was operated by the White House, the UN said in a statement.

- Additional reporting by David Mac Redmond and  © AFP 2025