What caused Trump’s escalator malfunction at the UN?

NEW YORK: An escalator carrying former US president Donald Trump abruptly stopped at the United Nations due to a safety mechanism, the UN has clarified.

According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the incident occurred when Trump’s videographer, moving backwards to film his arrival with First Lady Melania Trump, may have accidentally triggered the safety function at the top.

The White House had earlier raised concerns that the stoppage might have been deliberate.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that if someone intentionally stopped the escalator “they need to be fired and investigated immediately.”

Dujarric explained that the machine’s system showed the built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was activated at 09:50 am, just as the couple mounted the steps.

Trump later joked about the mishap during his speech at the UNGA, saying: “If the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen.”

The escalator snag was not Trump’s only technical issue. As he began his address, he complained the teleprompter had stopped working. It was restored later, but Trump quipped: “Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”

A UN official told the BBC the teleprompter was in fact being controlled by the White House team, which brought its own laptops and synced with the UN system to adjust the pace for Trump’s delivery.

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