NPR | Thursday, September 25, 2025 
Trump is accusing the U.N. of ‘sabotage.’ The U.N. says Trump’s team is to blame

President Trump is alleging “triple sabotage” of his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, demanding an investigation into back-to-back mishaps with an escalator, a teleprompter and a sound system — for which the U.N. is at least partially blaming the White House. “A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!” Trump wrote in a Wednesday Truth Social post. “This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves … No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do.” Trump visited the U.N.’s headquarters in New York City on Tuesday to speak to a room of world leaders. The trouble began pretty much the moment he stepped on the escalator, just behind first lady Melania Trump. The escalator stopped abruptly mere seconds into their ride, leaving the couple briefly stranded. Video of the incident, which some are calling “Escalatorgate,” shows them walking up the rest of the stairs while holding onto the handrails. A short while later, as Trump took the podium to begin his remarks, he observed that his teleprompter wasn’t working. He said he didn’t mind, adding that “I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” which drew laughs from the crowd. Trump took a moment to recount — and seemingly laugh off — the technical difficulties of the day…READ MORE