An escalator used by U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump suddenly stopped at the United Nations headquarters, with officials later confirming the halt was caused by a safety mechanism rather than deliberate interference.
According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the incident occurred as a videographer was walking backward on the escalator to film the couple’s arrival. The spokesperson explained that the cameraman may have unintentionally activated a built-in safety function when he reached the top, causing the escalator to stop.
“The readout of the machine’s system showed that the shutdown was triggered by the comb-step safety mechanism,” Dujarric noted.
Trump, addressing the General Assembly later in the day, made light of the matter. “If the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen,” he quipped.
The White House had initially voiced concern that the stoppage might have been intentional. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that if anyone at the UN deliberately stopped the escalator as the couple boarded, “they need to be fired and investigated immediately.”
Despite the clarification, Trump’s visit was not free of further hiccups. His speech to world leaders was briefly disrupted when his teleprompter malfunctioned. “I can only say whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” Trump remarked, before the device resumed working toward the end of his address.
A UN official later clarified that the White House team had been running the teleprompter themselves, connecting their laptops to the UN system to control the pace of delivery.
The White House has yet to respond to the UN’s explanation of the escalator mishap.
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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