President Donald Trump experienced a brief delay at the start of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 23, when the teleprompter appeared to malfunction.
The president stepped up to the podium at the U.N. headquarters in New York City but quickly noticed the device wasn’t showing his prepared remarks. Instead of continuing, he paused to joke about the situation and the staffer managing the teleprompter.
“I don’t mind making the speech without a teleprompter,” Trump, 79, quipped. “Because the teleprompter is not working.”
He added with a smile, “I feel very happy to be up here with you here, nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the heart. I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
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For about 15 seconds, the room fell silent before Trump turned toward his wife, Melania Trump, and said, “Hello, Madam First Lady.” He then began speaking from printed notes until the teleprompter resumed working.
Once his speech was back on the teleprompter, Trump boasted that he had “ended seven wars” and described meetings with world leaders as key to that outcome. He criticized the U.N. for failing to support his peace initiatives, warned leaders their “countries are going to hell” because of immigration, and accused European nations of letting immigrants “destroy your heritage.”
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At one point, he even mocked the organization’s infrastructure. “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle,” Trump said, drawing laughter. “If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen. But she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape, we both stood.”
He concluded the joke by tying the two glitches together: “These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
Trump has often taken aim at his opponents for relying heavily on teleprompters, frequently mocking his predecessor Joe Biden for using one during speeches.
