&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "White House claims UN staffers tried to humiliate Trump with 'escalatorgate' at UNGA; UN replies")
US President Donald Trump brushed off what he called "a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter" during his Tuesday (Sep 23) appearance at the United Nations, but the White House is taking the incidents seriously. Slamming the mishap as "purposeful" attempts to humiliate Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced that an investigation has been launched to determine whether the escalator malfunction was deliberate. Speaking to Fox News, Leavitt insisted that "there better be accountability for those people," and vowed that she will "personally see to it".
Escalatorgate: What happened?
Footage from showed Trump and First Lady Melania stepping onto an escalator at UN headquarters in New York, only for it to abruptly stop after a short distance. Trump laughed it off, joking that if the First Lady "wasn't in great shape, she would have fallen."
Later, during his UNGA address, Trump's teleprompter also suffered a malfunction, and the POTUS linked the incidents, jokingly, to what he called the UN’s broader failings.
“Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he said, before launching into his address criticizing the UN. He said the global body had failed to support his peace efforts and added that despite ending seven wars, he never received a call from the organization.
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“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much,” Trump quipped.
White House claims malice, says we'll find those responsible for the malfunctions
“If we find that these were UN and staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally, trip up the President and the First Lady of the United States, well, there better be accountability for those people,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Tuesday evening. “I will personally see to it.”
The White House then pointed to an earlier report in the Times of London suggesting that UN staffers had joked that they would shut off the escalators and "tell him (Trump) they ran out of money" amid US funding cuts. Conservative commentators and other officials also speculated about a potential plot against the president, reports AFP.
UN responds to sabotage rumours
The UN, however, offered a more mundane explanation. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the escalator had triggered a built-in safety mechanism after someone filming the arrival accidentally set off the sensor at the top. “A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine's central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator,” Dujarric said. The escalator was quickly reset and returned to service.
The UN, however, declined to comment on the Teleprompter malfunction, noting that it is operated by the White House.
Was Trump sabotaged at the UN?
AFP, citing its reporters, stated that the escalators at UN headquarters are frequently out of order, suggesting the mishaps were likely coincidental rather than targeted.
