Trump says the broken UN escalator could have gravely injured him and Melania

President Donald Trump called for arrests and an investigation into the “very sinister events” that unfolded during his visit to the United Nations this week.

The president unloaded in a Truth Social post about his experience at the New York City-based headquarters, where he addressed the General Assembly in a speech that was hindered by a frozen teleprompter and bad audio. This was after what “would have been a disaster” after he and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto an escalator that abruptly stopped.

“A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday – Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!” Trump wrote in a post on Wednesday.

“First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime,” he added. “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.”

pic.twitter.com/Ug37t0pp2r

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 24, 2025

The president blasted the incident as “absolutely sabotage,” citing an article that claimed that UN staffers had “joked about turning off an escalator.”

“The people that did it should be arrested!” Trump wrote.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement after the incident that “a videographer from the US delegation” had stepped onto the escalator ahead of the president and first lady, riding backwards, and “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function” at the top, causing the malfunction, which was reset by a technician on site.

.@PressSec says the issues with the escalator, teleprompter, and audio at the UN “doesn’t look like a coincidence.”

“If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up… @POTUS and @FLOTUS — well, there better be accountability for those people.” pic.twitter.com/hW7GGSLr0G

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 24, 2025

But the escalator was not the only problem the president encountered.

“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,” Trump wrote.

“I immediately thought to myself, ‘Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?’” he added, noting the device “kicked in” about 15 minutes into his speech.

“And third, 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 continued. “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.’

“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Trump raged, noting he was sending a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres to “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,” Trump added, directing that all security tapes be saved.

.@POTUS: In a period of just 7 months, I have ended 7 un-endable wars… No president or prime minister—and for that matter, no other country—has ever done anything close to that, and I did it in just 7 MONTHS. pic.twitter.com/Zs3c9703gv

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 23, 2025

During his no-nonsense speech before world leaders, Trump criticized the United Nations and referred to the incidents he had just encountered.

“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 said. “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.”

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” he added.

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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