On Wednesday, President Trump stated that the U.S. Secret Service is investigating what he described as “deliberate sabotage” he encountered at the United Nations. He mentioned that the escalator he was riding to the main auditorium suddenly stopped, the teleprompter malfunctioned, and the sound system was intentionally turned off, disrupting his participation in the UN General Assembly’s “high-level week” events the day before.
President Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to post on Wednesday with First Lady Melania Trump by his side, detailing the events as “triple deliberate sabotage” that he faced during the high-level UN meeting in New York.
He wrote, “The United Nations experienced a real disgrace yesterday – not one, not two, but three very malicious incidents!”
He expressed how the escalator suddenly stopped on the way to the main auditorium, stating, “It just stopped abruptly. Astonishingly, both Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of those steel steps – face first. It was only because we were holding onto the handrails tightly, or else this would have been a disaster.”
“This is definitely sabotage!” Trump continued to write, also mentioning a report from a British media outlet the day before quoting UN staff joking about shutting down the escalator.
“The person who did this should be arrested!” Trump further stated.
He then complained about the second incident – his teleprompter malfunctioning within the first 15 minutes of his speech, followed by the third incident – the intentional shutting off of the sound system in the UN General Assembly Hall.
“After delivering the speech, someone told me that the sound in the hall was completely shut off, and world leaders couldn’t hear anything unless they used translating earphones,” he wrote. “After the speech, the first person I saw was Melania, sitting right at the front. I asked her, ‘How was my speech?’ and she replied, ‘I couldn’t hear a word.’ This is not a coincidence, but a triple deliberate sabotage at the United Nations. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
On Tuesday morning, when the Trump couple was heading to the main auditorium in the UN headquarters in New York, the escalator they were on suddenly stopped working, forcing them to walk up the stairs themselves.
The United Nations has stated that there appears to be no evidence of deliberate sabotage in this incident.
However, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt expressed dissatisfaction with this explanation and vowed to investigate the events of Tuesday.
She posted on the X platform saying, “If someone intentionally stopped the escalator when the President and First Lady were on it, they must be immediately dismissed and investigated.”
Trump also wrote in a post on Wednesday, “All monitoring videos of the escalator should be preserved, especially those showing the emergency stop button. The Secret Service has been involved.”