Secret Service probes possible sabotage as Trump escalator incident at UN tied to cameraman, UN says

The Secret Service said it is reviewing whether the escalator President Donald Trump rode to the United Nations on Tuesday was sabotaged, even as the U.N. attributed the stoppage to a videographer who likely tripped a safety shut-off. The incident occurred as Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at U.N. Headquarters in New York for his General Assembly address.

According to the United Nations, the escalator stopped moments after the couple began ascending following a public wave to reporters. Trump briefly glared at bystanders before he and the first lady continued up the metal stairs. UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the videographer, seen boarding the escalator seconds before the president, likely activated the emergency stop. The videographer was photographed walking backward up the steps. A built-in safety mechanism on the comb step is designed to prevent people or objects from being pulled into the gearing. The UN said the technician reset the escalator once the delegation had climbed to the second floor, and the Daily Mail observed the escalator functioning properly for the rest of the morning.

White House officials declined to comment on the UN explanation while the Secret Service continues its probe. A White House spokesperson did not say where the administration stood on the UN’s account as of Wednesday morning. Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokesperson, publicly pushed a narrative on Fox News that UN staffers may have conspired to trip up the president, citing a Sunday Times report about the UN staff joking that they might turn off the escalators because of funding concerns. Leavitt also pointed to Trump’s teleprompter troubles as part of the critique of the UN.

The UN’s account and the White House’s cautious stance come as Trump leveraged the moment in his UN General Assembly remarks, describing the incident as part of a broader critique of the world body. He told attendees that the United Nations had not delivered on expectations and framed the escalator and teleprompter issues as symbols of a broader dysfunction.

In his remarks, Trump summed up the two incidents with a line that blended satire and grievance: “these are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.” The episode fed into a broader narrative Trump has used in recent weeks about the efficiency and reliability of international institutions, even as U.S. officials say the Secret Service is conducting a routine safety review. The White House has emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and that it will provide updates when appropriate, without drawing conclusions until authorities finish their work.

The escalator incident and the surrounding commentary underscore heightened scrutiny of events surrounding Trump’s diplomatic engagements. The UN’s explanation centers on a plausible, non-malicious trigger—the videographer’s movement—while critics frame the episode as part of a broader pattern of controversial interactions between Trump and the world body. With the Secret Service operation ongoing and the White House adopting a cautious stance, officials said the focus remains on security and protocol at high-profile international gatherings.