Donald Trump was in big trouble at the UNGA on September 23, 2025, when he arrived for his address to the UN General Assembly at its 80th session.
While addressing the UNGA, Donald Trump recalls the double trouble he had to face, first while approaching for the escalator and then at the teleprompter.
Trump told the UNGA gathering, "I don't mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working."
He continued, “I ended seven wars…I never received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help…These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.”
He then quipped at the operator and said, “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
Then the whole world saw Trump started reading from his printed notes instead.
On the other hand, the escalator glitch has prompted the White House to initiate an inquiry into the matter.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got furious over the incident and posted on X, saying:
“If anyone at the United Nations intentionally stopped an escalator just as Trump and Melania stepped on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately.”
Leavit smells a conspiracy behind it and attached a screenshot of an article from the British newspaper, The Times, in her post on X (formerly Twitter.)
The UN spokesperson gave his version to Reuters and said, “A check of the escalator’s main control system showed it had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.”
The UNGA spokesperson blamed the escalator glitch on Trump’s official videographer; he said:
“Trump’s videographer had been moving backwards up the escalator to film his entry with Melania Trump, the videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function.”
He explained the safety function at the UNGA: “The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects from accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing.”
Soon after Donald Trump ended his speech, UNGA President Annalena Baerbock clarified, “The U.N. teleprompters are working perfectly.”
During the speech, Trump recalled his offer of renovating the 39-story UN building, saying:
“Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex. At the time I offered $500 million to carry out the work, including rebuilding and everything and that it would be beautiful. But the UN later chose ‘another direction,’ which was more expensive at the time and produced a far inferior product.”
At the start of the millennium, Trump had offered to renovate the 39-story UN headquarters located in Manhattan but wasn’t chosen for the project, and the $2.3 billion project was completed three years behind schedule with over $400 million in cost overruns, according to the Associated Press.