The United Nations has hit back at White House conspiracy theories that Escalatorgate was an inside job.
Trump, 79, and first lady Melania, 55, were forced to walk up the escalator at the U.N. headquarters in New York when it malfunctioned ahead of his big speech.
It abruptly stopped, with incredible comic timing, just as Trump stepped onto the moving stairway with the first lady, in front of the world’s media.
The White House said it was probing whether the escalator was intentionally stopped to humiliate him, but the U.N. said Trump’s videographer may have triggered a safety mechanism.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, said in a statement that the escalator may have stopped because Trump’s videographer was walking backwards to film the president and the first lady.
A readout of its 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 videographer “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above,” the statement said, noting that the safety mechanism is designed to prevent people and objects from accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing.
The U.N. issued its statement after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt demanded answers about the malfunctioning escalator.
Leavitt agreed with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Jesse Watters Primetime when he suggested the incident could have been “sabotage.” She also said the Secret Service was probing the matter.
“If we find that these were U.N. 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,“ she said.
The U.N. also defended itself after Trump’s teleprompter stopped working as he began his address to the U.N. General Assembly.
“I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” the president said. The U.N. said the teleprompter was being operated by the White House.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday that “it was a great honor to speak before the United Nations” adding, “It is always an honor to speak at the United Nations, even if, their equipment is somewhat faulty.”
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