An escalator malfunction that required President Trump to walk up one flight of steps at the United Nations on Tuesday morning had false claims swirling on social media that it was a deliberate act of sabotage by U.N. staff.
Video has been widely circulated on various platforms showing the escalator jolting to a stop as soon as the president and the first lady, Melania Trump, stepped on. After a few moments of Mr. Trump looking around, Melania Trump begins walking up the escalator.
Mr. Trump was arriving to give an address to the U.N. General Assembly, and he included complaints about the escalator multiple times in the speech.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator on the way up that stopped right in the middle,” he said, adding that the first lady would have fallen if she was not in great shape.
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for the U.N.’s secretary general, said a White House videographer, who was traveling backward up the escalator to try to film the president’s entrance, may have inadvertently triggered a built-in safety mechanism.
“The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing,” Mr. Dujarric said.
A technician reset the escalator as soon as the American delegation had climbed up to the second floor, Mr. Dujarric added.
For many on social media, the incident was a trivial but amusing short video. But for the Trump administration, it was grounds for an investigation and retribution.
“If someone at the U.N. intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, wrote on X.
Some media personalities voiced concern for the safety of the president and first lady at the abrupt escalator stop.
“They sabotaged him, and they could’ve hurt the first lady,” said Jesse Watters, who hosts “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Fox News.
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
The post Escalator Malfunction at U.N. Sets Off Conspiracy Theories appeared first on New York Times.
