In a bizarre incident on Tuesday morning, an escalator at the United Nations headquarters stalled as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stepped on it. The escalator abruptly stopped moving. Melania and Trump chose to climb the stationary escalator rather than use a nearby moving one.
The White House has called for an investigation to determine whether the stoppage was deliberate sabotage or a technical fault. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X that anyone responsible should be fired and investigated immediately.
If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately.
The Times reported this on Sunday. pic.x.com/NitsWbGYG0
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 23, 2025
Video on social media showed the escalator halting suddenly, causing Melania, who was in high heels and standing in front of the president, to jolt forward.
According to a report by Times of London, UN staffers were overheard joking that they might make President Trump walk to the hall to deliver his speech. One idea reportedly circulating was to tell him the escalator had “run out of money,” forcing him to walk.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 23, 2025
Since taking office, Trump has cut about $1 billion in UN funding.
Handling it with a sense of humour, President Trump joked in his speech to the General Assembly that the escalator stopped mid-way and that Melania could have fallen if she “wasn’t in great shape.”
Another controversy at the UN involved a malfunctioning teleprompter. Trump began his speech by complaining that it wasn’t working. “I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” he said, claiming he was still happy to be in the General Assembly hall.
“I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he added. Trump then appeared to read from a printed copy of his speech.
Vice President JD Vance made a witty remark about the incident, taking a dig at past leadership:
“It’s nice to have a president with a brain! All kidding aside, did everyone notice how despite the lack of a teleprompter, he delivered a clear, reasonable address on US foreign policy?” Vance wrote on X.
Concluding his speech, Trump joked: “A bad escalator and a bad teleprompter are all I got from the UN.”
Taking a dig at the United Nations, Trump said the institution is failing to aid peace efforts and criticised the quality of its headquarters building. “The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it — it has tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to it,” he said while complaining about the broken escalator.
Trump also criticized the UN for allegedly funding illegal immigration into the United States, claiming the organization has aided migrants in “violating and assaulting” the borders of Western countries and providing cash, debit cards, and transportation to help them enter illegally.