US President Donald Trump called for an investigation after claiming he was a victim of “triple obstruction” during his visit to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
In a lengthy message posted on his Truth Social Platform on Wednesday, Trump claimed he had experienced “three ominous events.”
Trump argued that the incident was not a coincidence, citing reports that officials from London era joked about turning off the escalator during his visit. “Those who did that should be arrested,” he said.
Stephen Dujaric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, suggested that videographers for the US delegation accidentally stopped the escalator by inciting a built-in safety mechanism.
When Trump called on Guterres to investigate, he complained about the teleprompter’s flaws, which he reportedly failed for 15 minutes, saying that the US Secret Service was investigating the issue.
“I immediately thought to myself. What is this place?” he wrote in a social media post.
The US President also claimed that the sound was turned off in the UN Auditorium while he told him that the sound could only be heard through an interpreter.
“It’s no wonder the United Nations couldn’t do the work they existed for to exist,” he said in opposition to true, socially, suspicious attacks.
The president’s allies also quickly opposed the perceived obstructors. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said if someone intentionally stops the escalator, they should be “sacked immediately and investigated.”
“These lapses are unacceptable and symptomatic of broken facilities that pose serious safety and security risks,” wrote Mike Waltz, United Nations U.S. Ambassador, United Nations, in X.
Waltz added that the United States “will not tolerate the threat to our security and dignity at the International Forum,” and explained that the Trump administration expects “quick cooperation and decisive action.”
“You walk around the Terrazzo.”
In a speech at the United Nations Tuesday, Trump criticized the agency, saying he “doesn’t live out that possibility” and denounced other countries for migration and climate policy.
He also dedicated part of his speech to Chide the United Nations for rejecting a 2001 offer to renovate its New York headquarters “faster, much better, much better and more expensive” than its competitors.
“I remember that so much. Back then, I said I’d do it for $500 million and rebuild everything. It would be beautiful,” Trump told world leaders.
“I’m gonna give you a marble floor. They’re going to give you a terrazzo. I’m gonna give you the best of all. You’ll have a mahogany wall. They’re going to give you plastic.”
“But they decided to go in a different direction,” Trump lamented, “it was much more expensive back then, and actually produced much lesser products.”
Trump said the $500 million (425.7 million euros) offer was turned down because it became a much more expensive and inferior deal. “They had a massive cost overrun, spent $2-4 billion on the building and didn’t get the marble flooring I promised.”
“You’re walking down the terrazzo, did you notice it?” he said.