President Trump was subject to some technical difficulties on Tuesday morning while giving a speech at the UN, saying his teleprompter wasn’t working. He then immediately threatened the operator of the device.

Trump made sure to call attention to the issue right at the start of his speech, just after complaining about an incident on the escalator. Though he claimed not to mind having to speak without the teleprompter, Trump also warned seconds later of “big trouble” for the teleprompter operator.

“I feel very happy to be up here with you nevertheless. And that way you speak more from the heart,” he said. “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”

Trump: I don't mind making this speech without a teleprompter. Because the teleprompter is not working…. I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble pic.twitter.com/Lf1Yv66Jqk

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 23, 2025

Trump often goes off-script during his speeches, and the comment earned laughs from those inside the room. You can watch the moment in the video above.

From there, the president — who read off a paper speech — went on to tout high approval ratings, low prices for gas and groceries, both of which are not true, and rant once more about windmills. He also criticized multiple countries represented in the room, claimed he’s been “right about everything” and encouraged nations to ignore the concerns of climate change and avoid taking green measures to prevent it.

Trump also complained about the fact that he once bid on the renovation of the UN building, but was declined.

This is not the first time Trump has had issues with a teleprompter at a public event, and he tends to call it out when it happens. It happened on the campaign trail in 2016 and it happened again in October of last year, just as he was mocking former vice president Kamala Harris for using teleprompters.

Trump also complained about a teleprompter malfunction last June, saying that “I pay all this money to teleprompter people, and I’d say 20% of the time, they don’t work.” He then immediately noted he would not pay the vendor who provided the prompters.