New York, Sept. 25, 2025 — Former U.S. President Donald Trump has accused staff at the United Nations of orchestrating a deliberate attempt to disrupt his visit to the UN General Assembly, after an escalator at the headquarters abruptly stopped while he and First Lady Melania Trump were on it.
The sudden stoppage, which caused Melania to visibly lurch forward, was captured on video and marked the first of what Trump described as “three very sinister events” during his visit on Tuesday.
“A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt… It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps.”
Calling the incident “absolutely sabotage,” Trump cited a Times of London report claiming that UN staffers were overheard joking about stopping the escalator to force him to walk.
“The people that did it should be arrested!” he wrote, demanding an “immediate investigation” and that security footage, especially of the emergency stop button, be preserved. He also noted that the Secret Service is involved.
However, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the incident appeared to be accidental. According to Dujarric, a US delegation videographer, walking backward to film the Trumps’ arrival, may have unintentionally triggered the escalator’s safety mechanism at the top.
“A subsequent investigation indicated the escalator stopped after a built-in safety feature on the comb step was activated,” Dujarric said.
Trump also claimed two additional incidents took place during his speech: a teleprompter failure and an audio issue that allegedly prevented many attendees from hearing him.
“It was stone cold dark,” Trump said of the teleprompter. “First the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of place is this?” He said the teleprompter resumed functioning about 15 minutes later.
He added that he only learned of the audio problem after asking Melania for feedback following his address.
“She said, ‘I couldn’t hear a word you said,’” Trump recounted.
Concluding his post, Trump labeled the events “triple sabotage” and said the United Nations should “be ashamed of themselves.”
