White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a warning to the United Nations after an incident involving an escalator malfunction during Donald Trump’s visit. This technical glitch led to an investigation by the White House, as Trump encountered trouble when the escalator suddenly stopped as he attempted to use it.
During his visit to the General Assembly in New York City, Trump’s experience at the UN did not unfold smoothly. The sudden halt of the escalator appeared to amuse Trump, even though the interruption was inconvenient.
Karoline Leavitt, however, expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation. In an interview with Fox News, she stated: “If we find that these were UN and 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 for those people. And I will personally see to it.”
She reiterated her stance on Twitter, emphasizing: “If someone at the U.N. intentionally stopped the escalator … they need to be fired and investigated immediately.”
According to Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the incident was an accident. He explained that someone in front of Trump accidentally triggered a safety feature, causing the escalator to cease operations.
Before Trump’s speech, Leavitt pointed out a report from the Times of London suggesting that UN staff had joked about turning off the escalators as a cost-saving measure amid US funding cuts.
The difficulties continued for Trump when his teleprompter malfunctioned at the onset of his address. Commenting on the situation, Trump made a remark about the UN.
He commented: “Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
Trump humorously linked these incidents to the UN’s shortcomings and the lack of support for his peace efforts.
He added: “I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.”
The UN provided an explanation for the teleprompter malfunction, countering Trump’s assertions. Dujarric stated: “Regarding the teleprompter, we have no comment since the teleprompter for the US president is operated by the White House.”