White House Demands Escalator Investigation: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has called for an investigation into whether United Nations employees deliberately stopped the escalator carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the UN headquarters building on Tuesday.
The couple arrived at the UN headquarters in Manhattan ahead of Trump’s speech to the General Assembly. Trump waved and mouthed “thank you” to the press before stepping onto the escalator with the first lady. Moments later, it suddenly stopped, forcing the couple to walk up rest of the way.
White House calls for investigation
Leavitt took to X and cited a report of The Times which claimed that some UN employees had “joked that they may turn off the escalators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs.”
Leavitt said on X that if the UN staff deliberately stopped the escalator while the President and First Lady were on it, they should be removed from their job and face an investigation.
What is the UN’s response?
The United Nations says it has figured out why the escalator suddenly stopped just after Trump stepped on it Tuesday. According to the Associated Press, the UN officials believed that the escalator paused because someone from Trump’s team ran ahead of him, which triggered the safety mechanism.
A Reuters report said that it was his videographer that may have set off the safety switch by mistake.
Another glitch with the teleprompter
When Trump began his speech at the UN General Assembly, his teleprompter was not working.
A UN source told the Associated Press that it was actually the White House staff controlling the teleprompter.
Trump used the glitches to attack the UN, saying, “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator on the way up that stopped in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen.”
Trump’s UN speech
Trump in his UN speech once again claimed that he had ended several conflicts around the world and criticised the United Nations for not offering any support.
Trump pointed out that while wars like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s offensive in Gaza continue without any sign of stopping, the UN has not played a meaningful role.