During a recent address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a striking claim, asserting that 'God saved' Donald Trump from an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July 2024. Zelensky also highlighted Trump's dramatic shift in tone regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This change saw Trump, after previously agreeing to a potential peace plan involving Ukraine ceding land, declare that Ukraine is now positioned to retake all its lost territory, citing economic troubles for Russia and potential support from the European Union and NATO.

This revelation came amidst ongoing legal proceedings related to another alleged assassination plot against Donald Trump. Ryan Routh was found guilty on all charges in a Florida courtroom related to a September 2024 plot to kill the then-presidential candidate. The chaos continued as Routh began stabbing himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read. Routh, who was captured near one of Trump's golf courses with a gun and camera, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Trump congratulated Attorney General Pam Bondi and expressed appreciation for the legal process, with Bondi emphasizing the commitment to punishing political violence.

During his visit to the UN, Donald Trump also alleged 'triple sabotage' incidents that he claimed occurred during his Tuesday trip. These included a broken escalator, a malfunctioning teleprompter, and poor audio quality for his speech. Regarding the escalator incident, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were briefly stuck and had to walk up metal stairs. Trump described it as "absolutely sabotage," demanding arrests and stating it was "amazing that Melania and I didn't fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps." The Secret Service initiated an investigation into the matter.

However, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric offered an alternative explanation, stating that a White House videographer, who was seen riding the escalator backward to film the couple, likely inadvertently triggered a built-in safety mechanism. Dujarric confirmed the escalator was reset and functioned properly thereafter. Similarly, Trump claimed his teleprompter went "stone cold dark" for about 15 minutes during his address, forcing him to improvise, yet the UN indicated that the White House was responsible for operating the teleprompter. On the issue of poor audio, Trump stated that Melania and other world leaders could barely hear his speech. A UN official clarified that the sound system is designed to provide simultaneous translations via earpieces, meaning the main hall volume is intentionally kept low, a practice that has been in place for decades and was seemingly not communicated to the president or first lady.

Trump leveraged these incidents to criticize the United Nations as a whole, remarking, "No wonder the United Nations hasn't been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do." He concluded by writing a letter to the Secretary-General, demanding an immediate investigation and the preservation of security tapes. Despite the alleged technical issues, Trump boasted about the "fantastic reviews" his speech received, crediting his ability to deliver it without a teleprompter.

Beyond the technical glitches, Trump's speech and the reactions of various leaders garnered significant attention. Body language expert Judi James noted First Lady Melania Trump's "Sphynx-like" smile, suggesting it was a deliberate composure amidst her husband's fiery address. Melania reportedly displayed a subtle wry smile of agreement when Trump railed against the broken escalator. Other leaders exhibited diverse reactions, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "intense, concerned listening" frown to the "superior, studious-looking frowns" of the Chinese delegation and Russians filming Trump on their phones. Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintained a "poker face," while U.N. Amb. Michael Waltz adopted a "wild rictus smile."

During his address on September 23, 2025, President Trump also made several claims that were subject to fact-checking. On European immigration, Trump characterized it as an "unmitigated immigration disaster," stating, "Your countries are going to hell" due to "open borders." Eurostat data from 2024, however, shows non-EU citizens making up 6.4% of the EU population, with 9.9% foreign-born, compared to the US foreign-born population of 15.8% in January 2025. Furthermore, irregular border crossings in the EU decreased by 25% in 2024, and legal migration is recognized for contributing to development and filling labor market gaps.

Trump's assertion that "London wants to go to Sharia law" was identified as a false claim, building on conspiracy theories targeting London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan. While Sharia councils exist in the UK, their decisions are not legally binding under UK law. Khan publicly responded to Trump, describing him as "racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic" and debunking other fabricated stories about his plans for London.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Trump claimed that 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers from both sides were being killed "every single week." Experts, however, estimate the real number of weekly casualties to be closer to 1,850. Data from various sources indicate between 100,000 and 250,000 Russian soldiers killed since February 2022, while Ukrainian President Zelensky reported over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed by February 2025, though other estimates have been higher.

Finally, Trump dismissed climate change as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world," asserting that Europe loses over 175,000 people to heat death annually because of expensive air conditioning costs. A study in Nature Medicine reported over 62,700 heat-related deaths in Europe in 2024, and over 181,000 between 2022 and 2024, with Europe warming faster than the global average. While access to air conditioning in Europe is indeed low, the scientific community consistently refutes the notion that global warming is a hoax, acknowledging its human causes and significant global risks.