WASHINGTON, Sept 25: Escalator breakdowns at the UN are common, with offices in New York and Geneva at times shutting down elevators and escalators to cut costs amid a funding shortfall, partly due to delayed U.S. payments, the Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump claimed he was the target of “three very sinister events” during his visit to the UN General Assembly, where he criticized the institution, U.S. allies over Ukraine, and immigration policies, telling leaders their countries were “going to hell,” the AP stated.
China tells Taiwan to stop all mainland spying and sabotage
According to AP, Trump wrote on social media that the escalator carrying him suddenly stopped, which he called “sabotage.” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a U.S. videographer may have accidentally triggered the stop button.
Trump’s second complaint was that his teleprompter failed mid-speech, though a UN official noted the White House controlled the equipment, AP reported.
Trump also alleged the sound cut off during his remarks, leaving only interpreter feeds audible. He called the incidents “triple sabotage” and demanded the UN preserve security footage as the Secret Service investigates.
UN staff are familiar with escalator outages caused by cost-cutting measures linked to its ongoing financial crisis, AP reiterated.
