Donald Trump has called for the arrest of United Nations staffers he suspects orchestrated the “triple sabotage” of his appearance at the organisation’s annual world summit in New York. 

The US president said the Secret Service would investigate “sinister events” at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday following reports that workers had been overheard sharing prank ideas before an escalator, teleprompter and speaker failed.

“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

“They ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

He said that he and his wife, Melania, could have been seriously hurt when an escalator came to a “screeching halt” at the precise moment they attempted to step on.

“It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first,” Mr Trump said.

“It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster.”

After the president and first lady were forced to trudge up the static stairs – an awkward moment captured by the world’s media – Mr Trump arrived at the podium to commence his speech only to find that his teleprompter was “stone cold dark”.