It was anticipated that President Donald Trump’s speech at the UN on September 23 would be a show of power on the international stage. Rather, it swiftly turned into a display of complaints, hyperbole, and downright lies that made delegates chuckle and provoked internet mockery.
At the U.N.’s 80th anniversary session in New York, Trump began his almost hour-long speech by complaining about a stopped escalator and a broken teleprompter. He then drifted into his now-familiar pattern of grievance politics, boasting about fictitious accomplishments, such as making the untrue claim that he had halted “seven wars” without the assistance of an international organization.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter because the teleprompter is not working,” he began. He did, however, mind. As the crowd laughed at him, Trump said, “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
Later in his 57-minute speech, he emphasized his displeasure with the escalator’s malfunction and the teleprompter once more. “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle … these are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much,” Trump complained.
“A visibly upset Trump says his teleprompter isn’t working as the UN delegation erupts in laughter,” calltoactivism posted on Threads. Viewers instantly remembered Trump’s years of making fun of opponents for requiring a teleprompter while he complained about the faulty one in the UN.
An Internet user called it a “clown show,” while another added, “They’re laughing at him and he thinks they’re laughing with him…Fool!!!”
One critic on social media said, “I have to say he is a complete laughing stock.” Another sarcastically added, “He’s going to blame the radical left for this.”
To begin with, the wars that Trump claimed to end during his presidential campaign last year are still ongoing. On his first day in office, he pledged to put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia continues to bomb Ukraine. There is no imminent truce between Israel and Hamas, and Palestinians in Gaza are going hungry.
In 2016, the President said, “Maybe when you run, you shouldn’t be allowed to use a teleprompter. We should outlaw them.” Again, during his 2020 campaign, he mocked Biden for “squinting at the prompter” even while standing in front of one himself. In a 2021 Fox News interview, Trump even called Biden’s reliance on the tool “so sad for our country,” according to Newsweek.
“I believe it was Donald J. Trump who said that only incompetent losers like Biden needed to use a teleprompter. Or AUTOPEN. Of course, he uses both,” one user wrote. However, Trump’s repeated boasting about negotiating peace agreements with nations was likely one of the most embarrassing moments for Americans, especially since there wasn’t even a fight between a few of them in the first place.
“I ended seven wars, and in all cases, they were raging, with countless thousands of people being killed,” he boasted. “No president or prime minister has ever done anything close to that, and I did it in just seven months.”
