President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump experienced an unexpected mishap at the United Nations on Tuesday when an escalator carrying them suddenly stopped, forcing the couple to walk up the stalled machine before Trump’s scheduled address to world leaders.
The incident, which occurred just before 10 a.m. at UN headquarters in New York City, prompted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to call for an immediate investigation.
“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,” Leavitt wrote on X, citing a report from The Times of London that UN staffers had previously joked about cutting off access to escalators and elevators for Trump’s arrival.
In an appearance later that evening on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime, Leavitt suggested the malfunction “appears” to be sabotage, pointing to reports that some UN employees had mocked Trump’s visit.
“If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally trip up the president and the first lady of the United States, well there better be accountability,” she said.
The U.S. Secret Service is also reviewing the matter, according to Leavitt.
United Nations officials, however, quickly dismissed speculation of intentional wrongdoing. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, told reporters the stoppage was caused by a safety feature.
According to Dujarric, a videographer from the U.S. delegation had stepped onto the escalator ahead of the Trumps while walking backwards to film their arrival.
As the videographer reached the top, the movement triggered a built-in safety mechanism designed to prevent objects or people from becoming caught in the machinery.
“Our technician, who was at the location, reset the escalator as soon as the delegation had climbed up to the second floor,” Dujarric said. “A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered.”
He emphasized that the malfunction was mechanical, not deliberate, and that there was “nothing nefarious” behind the incident.
Trump himself addressed the mishap during his speech before the 80th United Nations General Assembly, weaving it into a lighthearted jab at the institution.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle,” Trump said, drawing laughter. He quipped that the situation might have been dangerous if the first lady “wasn’t in great shape.”
The president also improvised when his teleprompter froze early in the address.
“I feel very happy to be up here with you, nevertheless — and that way you speak more from the heart — I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he joked, again earning laughs from the audience.
The teleprompter resumed functioning minutes later. The incident comes amid already strained relations between the Trump administration and the UN. Trump has frequently criticized the organization as ineffective and accused it of creating “new problems” rather than solving global conflicts.
In his Tuesday address, Trump reiterated those criticisms, contrasting his administration’s record on foreign policy with what he described as a lack of assistance from the UN.
“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of these countries and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal,” he said.