US President Donald Trump’s United Nations visit on Tuesday was marked by two mishaps – one, his escalator stopped working the moment he stepped on it, and second, his teleprompter also broke down during his speech. The first incident was apparently foreshadowed by UN staffers last week.
The escalator mishap
An escalator at the United Nations headquarters in New York halted abruptly the moment Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto it.
In a remarkable coincidence, staff members of the UN had been overheard joking about turning off Trump’s escalator days before his visit.
On September 21, British newspaper The Times reported that UN staff members “have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs”, referring to Trump.
White House demands inquiry
The White House, apparently referring to this report, demanded an inquiry into the incident if someone intentionally stopped Trump’s escalator.
"If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
{{/usCountry}}"If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
{{/usCountry}}However, the UN believes that a person travelling with Trump may have inadvertently set off a safety mechanism on the escalator, causing it to stop.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a readout of the escalator's central processing unit indicated it "had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator."
He said Trump's videographer had been traveling backwards up the escalator to capture his arrival with First Lady Melania Trump, per a Reuters report.
"The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function," Dujarric said in a statement. "The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing."