President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was the victim of “three very sinister events” during his recent visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York and said the incidents were so serious that the Secret Service is now investigating. He has also demanded an official inquiry from the UN, calling the episode a “disgrace” and suggesting it may have been an intentional attempt to undermine him on the world stage.
In a strongly worded post on Truth Social, Trump described the experience at the United Nations as “A REAL DISGRACE” and said that “Not one, not two, but three very sinister events”—the abrupt halting of an escalator, a non-functional teleprompter, and a complete audio failure in the hall—were deliberate attempts to embarrass him on the global stage.
“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…” – President Donald J. Trump pic.x.com/froSdxZITs
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 24, 2025
According to Trump, the first issue occurred when he and First Lady Melania Trump were ascending an escalator to the main speaking floor, which suddenly came to a screeching halt. “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,” Trump wrote on Truth social .
He referred to a report in The London Times that UN workers were overheard “joking about turning off the escalator”. “The people who did it should be arrested,” Trump demanded, calling the incident “absolute sabotage.”
The second problem, he said, happened moments later as he began to deliver his speech. The teleprompter, which was supposed to display his prepared remarks, was completely dark. Trump said he had to deliver the first 15 minutes of his speech from memory, but claimed it was well received. “The good news is the speech got fantastic reviews. Maybe they appreciated that very few people could have done what I did,” he remarked.
“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. 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,” he said.
“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 said.
Finally, Trump said that after the speech, he learned that the sound system in the General Assembly hall was not functioning properly. According to him, unless the world leaders in the room were wearing interpreter earpieces, they wouldn’t have heard anything.
“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,” he said.
Trump concluded that the combination of incidents was not a coincidence, but a coordinated act of “triple sabotage.” He added that he had written to the UN Secretary-General demanding an investigation and asked that all security tapes, especially those related to the escalator’s emergency stop button, be preserved. He noted that the Secret Service was now involved.
“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.”
The bizarre series of events took place on Tuesday morning and quickly drew attention online. Video footage showed the moment the escalator stalled, causing Melania, in high heels, to jolt forward. Rather than use a nearby functioning escalator, the couple chose to walk up the stalled one. The White House called for an immediate investigation to determine whether the malfunction was sabotage or a technical failure.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “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.”
According to a report by Times of London, UN staffers were overheard joking that they might make President Trump walk to the hall to deliver his speech. One idea reportedly circulating was to tell him the escalator had “run out of money,” forcing him to walk.
The controversy comes in the context of Trump’s long-standing criticism of the UN. As president, he slashed nearly USD1 billion in funding to the organization and frequently accused it of inefficiency.
In his speech to the General Assembly, delivered without a functioning teleprompter for the first portion,Trump again criticized the UN for failing to fulfill its global peacekeeping role and for allegedly aiding illegal immigration into the US. He said that the UN has aided migrants in “violating and assaulting” the borders of Western countries and provided cash, debit cards, and transportation to help migrants illegally enter Western countries.He also accused the organisation of failing to fulfill the very purpose for which it was established i.e. peace and stop wars. .