jcrabapple (@jcrabapple.dmv.community.ap.brid.gy)

Turns Out Trump’s Own Team Messed Up U.N. Escalator and Teleprompter President Trump repeatedly blamed the United Nations for his teleprompter issues and a malfunctioning escalator in a spiteful Tuesday speech to the General Assembly. But it seems that both issues were caused directly by his own team. “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle,” Trump said after claiming to have brought so much peace and prosperity to the world without any international assistance. “If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen. But she’s in great shape … and then a teleprompter that didn’t work. These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.” > President Trump: "These are the two things I got from the United Nations; a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much."#UNGA80 pic.twitter.com/yy0BAkaqtL > > — CSPAN (@cspan) September 23, 2025 But according to the Associated Press’s Farnoush Amiri, an anonymous U.N. official said the escalator in question was actually stopped prematurely by someone from Trump’s group, who ran ahead of the group and accidentally triggered a stop mechanism. The official added that the teleprompter that Trump was so upset about was also being operated by his White House. > CLIP: "Bad escalator" President Trump referred to during his address to the U.N. General Assembly. #UNGA80 https://t.co/S1w9kUOq1l pic.twitter.com/Ja1JRyfF7m > > — CSPAN (@cspan) September 23, 2025 Trump’s churlish speech—and his faulty finger-pointing—only further display how isolating his presidency has been on an international level. Trump’s constant hammering of the U.N. may cause countries that once depended on us as allies to go elsewhere, or strengthen their relationships without us. https://newrepublic.com/post/200833/trump-team-messed-up-un-escalator-teleprompter