As we reported, President Donald Trump gave an address at the UN on Tuesday.
But there were some issues before he even began the speech. The escalator stopped running abruptly the minute he stepped on it, forcing him and First Lady Melania Trump to walk up it.
This is insane…
As Trump arrived to the UN, the escalator stopped working the moment he stepped on it.
Then the teleprompter stopped working the moment he got up to the podium to speak. pic.twitter.com/XBTgfr6zJ8
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) September 23, 2025
He said if the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she might have fallen. He joked he was in great shape as well — they both stood.
Then, as he began his speech, he let people know the teleprompter didn’t work.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” Trump began, looking a little irked, drawing laughter.
“I feel very happy to be up here with you, nevertheless — and that way you speak more from the heart — I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he added to more laughs.
The teleprompter did start working after about a minute of ad-libbing.
Townhall’s Katie Pavlich, who was there, also explained how the microphones, “which were audible for the previous speaker, were not amplifying sound at the same level when Trump started speaking. It was hard to hear in the room.”
The escalator stopped as soon as First Lady Melania and President Trump stood on it upon arrival to the UN
Then, the teleprompter wasn’t working when Trump took the stage
Then the microphones, which were audible for the previous speaker, were not amplifying sound at the same… https://t.co/sFW8u0RYs7
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) September 23, 2025
According to the London Times:
[W]hile the main UN audio feed to TV news channels switched over to a foreign language translation towards the end of his speech, obscuring some of his words.
Trump handled it all well and tried to make a joke out of it.
Now, some are raising questions about what went down.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referenced a Sunday Times story.
If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately.
The Times reported this on Sunday.👇 pic.twitter.com/NitsWbGYG0
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 23, 2025
The story was that UN staffers had “joked” about stopping the escalators and elevators, and saying they were out of money, so Trump would have to walk. It’s rather remarkable you have that report, and then it happened right on cue.
Real Clear Politics’ Susan Crabtree pointed out another problem with the escalator question. Crabtree has Secret Service sources, and she said there was concern about the incident putting Trump in a dangerous position. She said people were asking why the Secret Service didn’t close ranks around Trump and immediately get him off the escalator.
🚨🚨 Why did the @SecretService allow Pres. Trump and Melania to get stalled on an escalator today at the @UN General Assembly before his speech without moving quickly to protect the leader of the free world and his wife?
The stalled escalator with President Trump and first lady… https://t.co/mFvxGVXDQN
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) September 23, 2025
Given the current climate and the attempts made against Trump, such questions are important. Ryan Routh, the would-be assassin in the golf course incident, was convicted on Tuesday as well.
READ MORE: Breaking: Jury Returns Verdict in Trial of Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh (Updated)
The UN is pleading innocence, claiming it was just coincidental accidents.
“Regarding the escalator: The safety mechanism was inadvertently triggered by someone who was ahead of the president on the escalator. The escalator was immediately reset and is in operation,” said Farhan Aziz Haq for the UN.
“Regarding the teleprompter, we have no comment since we don’t operate that teleprompter. The interpretation audio was heard when a non-official interpreter pressed the wrong button, which briefly allowed a non-UN interpreter to be heard,” he said.
“Inadvertent” and “pressed the wrong button.”
Somehow, they’re not convincing me.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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