Did trump actually say the UN gave him a bad teleprompter and bad escalator?

Checked on September 23, 2025
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1. Summary of the results

The original statement claims that Trump said the UN gave him a bad teleprompter and bad escalator. According to [1], Trump explicitly stated he received a "bad escalator" and a "bad teleprompter" from the UN, confirming he made that remark [1]. Similarly, [2] describes Trump’s UN arrival where the escalator stopped and he noted the teleprompter wasn’t working, quoting him about the broken escalator and malfunctioning teleprompter, thus supporting the claim [2]. However, [3] and [2] report that Trump complained about the teleprompter malfunction and the stopped escalator, but do not mention that the UN gave him a bad teleprompter, only that it malfunctioned during his speech [3] [2]. On the other hand, [4] and [5] do not mention the incident at all, discussing unrelated topics [4] [5].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Some key points are missing from the original statement, such as the context in which Trump made the remarks. [3] and [2] provide more detailed information about the incident, including Trump's comments about the teleprompter operator and his joke about the First Lady [3] [2]. Additionally, [4] and [5] offer alternative viewpoints by not mentioning the incident, which could suggest that the story was not widely reported or that it was not considered significant [4] [5]. The fact that [1] and [2] support the claim, while [3] and [2] provide a more nuanced version of events, highlights the importance of considering multiple sources when evaluating the claim [1] [2] [3].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement may contain potential misinformation or bias, as it claims that the UN gave Trump a bad teleprompter and bad escalator. However, [3] and [2] suggest that Trump only complained about the teleprompter malfunction and the stopped escalator, without explicitly stating that the UN gave him a bad teleprompter [3] [2]. This could indicate that the original statement is exaggerating or distorting Trump's comments. The sources that support the claim, such as [1] and [2], may benefit from a narrative that portrays Trump as a victim of circumstances, while the sources that provide a more nuanced version of events, such as [3] and [2], may benefit from a more balanced approach to reporting [1] [2] [3].

Want to dive deeper?
What was Trump's full statement about the UN teleprompter and escalator?
Did the UN respond to Trump's claims about the teleprompter and escalator?
What other instances of technical issues have occurred during Trump's speeches?
How did the media cover Trump's claims about the UN teleprompter and escalator?
Has Trump made similar claims about equipment or technical issues in the past?