Trump demands investigation into "triple sabotage" at UN
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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk up an escalator as they arrive to the 80th session of the UN's General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. Photo: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
President Trump said Wednesday the Secret Service is looking into "three very sinister events" at the United Nations concerning issues with an escalator, teleprompter and audio at the UN headquarters in New York City a day earlier.
The big picture: The president and first lady Melania Trump were on an escalator at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday after arriving for his speech, where he told world leaders that their countries "are going to hell," when it malfunctioned.
- A UN official said in a statement a videographer from the U.S. delegation traveling backward at the top of the escalator "may have inadvertently triggered" a safety mechanism.
- Trump joked during his speech that started with a teleprompter malfunction: "These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter."
- Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday that he learned after his speech that "the sound was completely off."
- Now, he says he's writing to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and demanding "an immediate investigation" into the issues.
Zoom in: Trump called the incidents a "REAL DISGRACE" and said it "amazing that Melania and I didn't fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first" on the escalator.
- "It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster," he added. "This was absolutely sabotage. ... The people that did it should be arrested!"
- Trump said his teleprompter went "stone cold dark" during his speech and that he learned afterward of the audio issues in the auditorium that meant world leaders could only hear him if they used interpreters' earpieces.
- "This wasn't a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves," Trump said. "All security tapes at the escalator should be saved, especially the emergency stop button. The Secret Service is involved."
- Representatives from the UN and Secret Service did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: 10 topics Trump hit in meandering UN speech
