Some folks brushed it off as funny, but Trump’s not laughing; he’s calling it a total “disgrace” and pushing for an official investigation.
So, here’s what went down: Trump was at the UN with Melania, and right as they’re heading up this escalator, it just grinds to a halt. They both turn around like, “What the heck?” and end up having to walk the rest of the way.
Earlier, his teleprompter crapped out during his talk, and apparently the sound system wasn’t cooperating either. The White House wasn’t thrilled—initial reports said they wanted to look into whether someone messed with the escalator on purpose to embarrass him. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt even went on Fox News saying there’d be “accountability” if it turned out to be deliberate.
The UN’s side? They chalked it up to some safety feature getting triggered by accident. No big conspiracy, just a glitch.
But Trump isn’t buying it. He fired off a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, ranting about a “triple sabotage” during his UN appearance. He’s demanding answers on the escalator, teleprompter, and audio issues, and he’s pinning some blame on the UN itself. Meanwhile, the UN is pushing back, saying the White House might share some responsibility for the mess-ups.
“A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!” he wrote. “This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves … No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do.”
The whole escalator thing’s even earned a nickname: “Escalatorgate.” There’s video out there showing Trump and Melania casually strolling up the steps, gripping the rail. When he finally got to his speech, he tried to play it cool with a joke: “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. And then a teleprompter that didn’t work.”
