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President Donald Trump wrote a long Truth Social post Wednesday complaining about “three very sinister events” during his visit to the United Nations headquarters, demanding an “immediate investigation” into glitches with the escalator, teleprompter, and sound system. His post came one day after a UN spokesman had shared the results of their own internal investigation finding the president’s team at fault for at least part of these problems.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were at the UN building Tuesday, where the president would deliver an hour-long speech to the UN General Assembly that lambasted other member nations and included a number of false claims that were swiftly fact-checked.
When the president and his wife arrived at the UN building, they walked towards the escalator, but it stopped suddenly right after they stepped on it. After pausing for a few moments, they continued walking up the escalator that was now temporarily stairs.
During Trump’s speech, the teleprompter was also faulty, and he complained about having “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also blamed the UN.
However, according to a statement by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, the escalator problem was caused when a videographer who was accompanying Trump and the rest of the U.S. delegation ran ahead of the president and accidentally set off a “stop mechanism” safety device at the top of the elevator.
Dujarric added that the UN’s escalator technician was on site and was able to “reset the escalator as soon as the [U.S.] delegation had climbed up to the second floor,” and a “subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.
Regarding the teleprompter, the AP reported that a UN official “speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue” said the fault for those problems was with Trump’s team as well, because the White House was operating the teleprompter.
Trump shrugged off these reports and wrote a Truth Social post that reiterated the demand voiced by Leavitt for an investigation, claiming the escalator problem was “absolutely sabotage” that could have been a “disaster” if he and Melania were not “holding the handrail tightly.”
“The people that did it should be arrested!” Trump declared before repeating his complaints about the teleprompter — adding in a claim that his speech “has gotten fantastic reviews” — and claiming that the “sound was completely off in the Auditorium” during his speech.
These problems were “A REAL DISGRACE” and “triple sabotage at the UN,” wrote Trump, and the UN “ought to be ashamed of themselves.” He added that he was sending a letter to the UN Secretary General, demanded “an immediate investigation” and for “[a]ll security tapes at the escalator” to be saved.
“The Secret Service is involved,” Trump added.
The full text of Trump’s post read:
A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events! First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. 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. This was absolutely sabotage, as noted by a day’s earlier “post” in The London Times that said UN workers “joked about turning off an escalator.” 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
The post Trump Rants About ‘Very Sinister Events’ at UN — Demands ‘Immediate Investigation’ Over Escalator and Teleprompter Glitches first appeared on Mediaite.
