President Donald Trump had plenty of complaints about the United Nations in a speech before the UN General Assembly − including over a failed bid he made to renovate the UN's New York City headquarters.

Trump still seemed sore about not being tapped to do the renovation project in the early 2000s.

"They decided to go in another direction, which was much more expensive at the time, and which actually produced a far inferior product," Trump said Sept. 23.

The renovation of the UN building began in 2008 and initially was estimated to cost $1.2 billion, according to PolitiFact. Trump testified before a Senate committee in 2005 that the project would cost more, and appealed to do the work on the 39-story building. The project ended up costing about $2.3 billion, with the U.S. providing $488 million.

"I realized that they did not know what they were doing when it came to construction, and that their building concepts were so wrong, and the product that they were proposing to build was so bad and so costly," Trump told the General Assembly, pointing to the cost overruns and adding the UN "did not even get the marble floors that I promised them."

As president, Trump has taken a keen interest in his physical surroundings, transforming the White House Rose Garden into an outdoor patio, renovating a bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom, starting renovations of the Kennedy Center and launching construction of a $200 million ballroom at the White House.

Trump began his speech to the General Assembly complaining that the teleprompter didn't work, and later noted the escalator in the building also was broken.

"Frankly, looking at the building and getting stuck in the escalator, they still haven't finished the job," Trump said.

The president linked his broader complaints about the United Nations to the building's renovation.

"Unfortunately, many things in the United Nations are happening just like that, but on an even much bigger scale," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump complains about not getting UN renovation job in speech to General Assembly

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect