Seth Meyers Roasts Karoline Leavitt Over UN Escalator Snag

Late Night host Seth Meyers roasted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday for criticizing President Donald Trump’s entrance at the United Nations, focusing on the escalator moment. Leavitt, citing a Sunday Times report in an appearance on Fox News, alleged that "U.N. globalist staffers" sabotaged the president as he prepared to address the General Assembly. Meyers quipped: "Man, you know I’ve heard a lot about these globalists over the years, but I didn’t realize their MO was to just burn you with soft pranks. Teleprompter down, escalator off. When the president was talking, someone tied his shoelaces together! Are they a shadowy cabal or Kevin from 'Home Alone'?"

Trump, via social media, described the escalator moment as one of three "very sinister events" that took place at the UN this week, saying he and first lady Melania Trump avoided a "disaster" by not falling forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps. He called for the arrest of anyone behind the stopped escalator.

A UN spokesperson previously linked Trump’s videographer to halting the escalator, suggesting that the videographer may have inadvertently triggered a built-in safety function while walking backward up the escalator to capture his arrival.

Meyers’ on-air jokes were part of the ongoing blend of politics and entertainment during the UN week, a pattern in late-night television as audiences consume international events through humor and commentary.

During the segment, Meyers nods to Trump's claim that he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in one day, closing with the line, "Oh, hey, look at that — they solved the conflict in one day! How about that?" The gag underscored how late-night hosts weave current events into punchlines as part of a broader cultural conversation surrounding the week at the United Nations.