A series of technical mishaps during President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the United Nations has fueled speculation that UN staff may have deliberately embarrassed the U.S. president.
The incidents began when the escalator broke down as First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto it, forcing the couple to walk up the stalled steps. Later, the president’s teleprompter failed to work, and the main UN audio feed briefly switched to a foreign language translation during his speech.
The Times in UK reported that some UN employees had been overheard joking about potential stunts to highlight funding shortages caused by withheld U.S. contributions. Ideas reportedly included turning off escalators and lifts, forcing Trump to navigate the building on foot.
President Trump addressed the incidents in his speech to the General Assembly, turning the glitches into a point of criticism. “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. We both stood,” he said. He also noted the teleprompter issue, adding with humor, “These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much. And by the way, it’s working now. Just went on. Thank you.”
Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, called for an 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,” she said.
A UN spokesman described the incidents as genuine accidents. Farhan Aziz Haq said the escalator’s safety mechanism had been inadvertently triggered by someone ahead of the president, and it was immediately reset. Regarding the teleprompter and audio issues, Haq said the teleprompter is not operated by the UN, and the brief foreign language audio was caused by a non-official interpreter pressing the wrong button.
