United States President Donald Trump has alleged that he and his wife, Melania, narrowly escaped death at the United Nations headquarters in New York after an escalator carrying them to the main speaking floor suddenly stopped mid-motion.
In a post on his verified social media handle, the American leader described the incident, along with two other disruptions during his visit, as “triple sabotage” targeted at him. He claimed a report in The London Times had earlier quoted UN workers joking about “turning off an escalator.”
“The escalator came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster,” Trump wrote. He insisted those responsible “should be arrested.”
Trump said the ordeal continued inside the hall where he was billed to address world leaders. “My teleprompter didn’t work. It was stone cold dark. I immediately thought to myself, ‘Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?’” he recounted. He noted that he proceeded with his remarks without the teleprompter, which only came back on after 15 minutes, adding that the speech still “got fantastic reviews.”
The President further disclosed that the auditorium’s sound system failed during his speech, leaving many leaders unable to hear him except through interpreters. At the conclusion, he turned to Melania, who had been seated in the front row. “I said, ‘How did I do?’ And she said, ‘I couldn’t hear a word you said.’”
Calling the incidents “a disgrace” and “triple sabotage at the UN,” Trump said he has forwarded a letter to the UN Secretary-General demanding a full investigation. He urged that all security tapes, particularly those linked to the escalator’s emergency stop button, be preserved. He added that the United States Secret Service is already involved.
