“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN,” Trump said in a social media post. “They ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
See President Trump’s UN speech start with teleprompter trouble
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump had issues with his teleprompter.
President Donald Trump was still stewing a day after experiencing multiple technical difficulties at the United Nations, accusing the organization without evidence of “triple sabotage” and demanding an investigation and arrests.
Trump had to contend with an escalator and a teleprompter that weren’t working, and claimed he was told that the sound was “completely off” in the auditorium during his address to the General Assembly.
“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN,” Trump said in a Sept. 24 social media post. “They ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
The president didn’t offer evidence of his sabotage claim. The U.N. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Sept. 24.
‘Sound was completely off in the Auditorium’
UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement released Sept. 23 that the organization investigated the elevator incident and found that a member of Trump’s own team may have caused the escalator to stop working.
Dujarric said a videographer with the United States delegation was traveling backwards up the escalator to film Trump’s arrival. Just as the videographer got to the top, Trump and his wife stepped onto the bottom of the escalator. A technician who examined a “readout of the machine’s central processing unit” found that a safety mechanism at the top of the escalator was triggered, halting it.
“The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function,” Dujarric added.
The teleprompter started working during Trump’s speech. An unnamed UN official told Reuters the White House had operated its own teleprompter, and, after Trump finished speaking, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said, “The U.N. teleprompters are working perfectly.”
The Associated Press also reported that the White House was operating the teleprompter, citing an unnamed U.N. official.
Trump also claimed that “the sound was completely off in the Auditorium” during his speech and “that World Leaders, unless they used the interpreters’ earpieces, couldn’t hear a thing.” The news outlet TRT World reported there were multiple microphone failures during speeches by world leaders, including those from Canada and Indonesia.
U.N. officials told the outlet there was “no indication” it was deliberate.
But Trump has called for an investigation and arrests. Both Trump and United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz said that the Secret Service will look into the technical failures.
“These lapses are unacceptable and symptomatic of a broken institution that pose serious safety and security risks,” Waltz said.
Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY