Overview

• An entrance-hall escalator stopped shortly after Trump and the first lady stepped on it, forcing them to walk up the stalled steps.
• At the podium his teleprompter initially failed, prompting a joke that the operator was “in big trouble” before the feed came back on.
• He used the moment to criticize the institution, questioning the UN’s purpose and accusing it of failing to address ongoing conflicts.
• Later on Truth Social, Trump said the mishaps likely made the speech more interesting and called the UN’s equipment faulty.
• The Times reported that UN staff had previously joked about switching off escalators to highlight funding strains, a claim not proven to be linked to the incident.