Desk Report:
US President Donald Trump was the victim of a stunt during the United Nations General Assembly session. As soon as he stepped onto an escalator, it stopped. The United Nations later said that they had solved the mystery. They believe that the incident occurred when a safety feature of the escalator was activated due to an unintentional mistake by the president’s own videographer.
The video shows President Trump walking towards an escalator. Journalists are crowding behind. There are two escalators to go up. First Lady Melania Trump first went up one escalator. Then President Trump stepped onto the stairs. The escalator immediately stopped. Both the President and the First Lady looked on in shock. The President pointed with his index finger. At that time, the next escalator was moving normally. A moment later, the First Lady started walking up the stairs. The President later followed him.
During a speech to world leaders on Tuesday (September 23) local time, Trump jokingly mentioned the malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter. With a smile on his face, he told the 193-member General Assembly, “These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a broken escalator and a broken teleprompter!”
However, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt did not take the matter so lightly. She wrote in a stern post on her X handle immediately after the incident, “If anyone at the United Nations intentionally stopped the escalator while the President and First Lady were boarding it, they should be immediately fired and investigated.”
Explaining the incident, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that data from the escalator’s central processing unit showed that a safety feature on the ‘comb step’ at the top of the escalator had been activated and it had stopped. He added that Trump’s videographer was walking backwards on the escalator to better capture the president’s arrival with First Lady Melania Trump. This is what caused the mishap.
Dujarric said in a statement that the videographer may have inadvertently activated the safety system. This safety system is designed to prevent people or other objects from inadvertently getting caught in the gear or being pulled by the gear.
The White House did not immediately comment on the UN’s explanation.
Regarding the teleprompter problem, Trump told the General Assembly, “All I can say is that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in great danger!”
However, a UN official said that the White House was using its own teleprompter. After Trump’s speech, UN General Assembly President Annaleena Baerbock said, “The UN teleprompters are working properly.”
