A representative for the United Nations Secretary-General pushed back against President Donald Trump’s sharp remarks about a teleprompter he used during a live speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
During his speech, Trump warned that the crew member who handled the allegedly faulty teleprompter would be “in big trouble.” UN spokesperson Farhan Aziz Haq responded in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
“The White House, not the UN, was in charge of the teleprompter that was used,” Haq explained. “Please ask them about what happened with their teleprompter. Thanks.”
Trump also joked that the UN only gave him “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.” He recalled that an escalator stopped suddenly while he was on it, adding, “If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape.”
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The audience laughed when Trump said, “whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” but he paused briefly before continuing with his remarks. Later, he added that the teleprompter had started working again.
This speech followed recent tension between Trump and ABC’s Jonathan Karl. At a White House press conference, Karl asked about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s vow to “go after hate speech” after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump shot back, “We’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It’s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart.”
ABC also faced controversy after suspending talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over his remarks about Kirk’s alleged assassin. Trump later mocked Kimmel before the network reinstated his program.
