UN says escalator safety feature triggered Trump arrival; teleprompter glitch marked UN appearance

The United Nations confirmed Wednesday that a built-in safety mechanism on the escalator used to greet President Donald Trump abruptly halted the device after a videographer traveling backward up the stairs to film the arrival with First Lady Melania Trump may have inadvertently triggered the feature at the top, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. A readout from the escalator's central processing unit indicated the stop occurred when the safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top.

The moment came at about 9:50 a.m., as the videographer reached the top and the president and first lady mounted the bottom steps, when the escalator stopped, the UN spokesman said. The stoppage occurred as the couple prepared to step onto the escalator, adding to the sequence of early morning hiccups surrounding the president’s UN visit.

White House officials had indicated they suspected deliberate interference, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posting on X after the incident that anyone at the U.N. who intentionally stopped the escalator should be fired and investigated immediately. The White House has not issued a formal comment on the UN’s findings.

Later, Trump encountered additional technical difficulties as he began his address to the U.N. General Assembly. He opened by saying the teleprompter was not working, though it was restored toward the end of his speech. He also quipped that whoever operates the teleprompter is in big trouble. A UN official later told the BBC that the White House was running the teleprompter from its own laptops connected to the UN system, a setup intended to help control the speech tempo.

The escalator incident occurred just before Trump’s formal remarks at the General Assembly and was followed by a day characterized by logistical and technical tensions surrounding the president’s UN appearance. The UN account of the escalator stop remains the basis for the agency’s description of the event, while White House officials have not provided a competing account of the malfunction.