Trump fuels escalator conspiracy with claim of 'triple sabotage' at UN

By Nick Wadhams and Magdalena Del Valle

 

President Donald Trump alleged he was the victim of “triple sabotage” after mishaps involving an escalator, a teleprompter and the sound system at the UN — problems that the world body blamed partly on his own team.

 

Trump called for the arrest of the person who purportedly triggered an escalator to shut down just as he and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto it Tuesday morning after entering UN headquarters. He complained that the teleprompter went dark as he prepared to give his speech, and then was told the sound in the General Assembly hall went quiet when he delivered the address. 

 

“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN,” Trump wrote on social media. “They ought to be ashamed of themselves. I’m sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary General, and I demand an immediate investigation. No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do.”

 

In a statement on Tuesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said an investigation into the escalator stoppage determined it shut down because a safety mechanism was set off at the top. Dujarric said a US-delegation videographer who preceded Trump up the escalator “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above.”

 

UN officials also blamed Trump for the teleprompter snafu, saying his team brought the laptop that hooked up to the system and loaded his speech. After Trump spoke, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock told the audience that “the UN teleprompters are working perfectly.”

 

As for the sound, the UN headquarters’ cavernous General Assembly hall was designed with poor acoustics in mind. That’s so audience members from the UN’s nearly 200 member states can use translator earpieces installed at each seat to listen to speeches in their own language.

 

Trump’s post was in keeping with the blistering attack he made on the UN and member countries during his General Assembly address on Tuesday. The claims had been fanned by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who pointed to an earlier story in the Times of London reporting that UN workers joked about turning off an escalator at Trump’s arrival.  

 

She said the Secret Service was examining the issue. Trump said in his post that “all security tapes at the escalator should be saved.”

 

The viral moment in which the Trumps have to steady themselves before walking up the steps captivated viewers on social media on the first day of debates for the UN gathering. Trump complained about the escalator incident not only during the General Assembly but also in a private meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.  

 

“It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first,” Trump wrote.