Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, and First Lady Melania Trump faced an unexpected challenge during their visit to the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday. After just a few steps, it suddenly stopped, raising questions about escalator safety measures and operational procedures. As you might have heard, the incident was shocking and led to promises from U.S. officials to look into the failed system.
The escalator mercilessly cut off all sound as the pair started up the hill, sending everything into a woods-shaking pause of confusion. According to Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the malfunction occurred when a videographer filming the U.S. delegation “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function” of the escalator. With a little reset, the escalator came back to life. It triggered a torrent of comical invective from Trump.
Soon thereafter, Trump took to the media. See that escalator In letting us know that his escalator and teleprompter weren’t working at the outset of his speech, he revealed his vaunted earnestness. He quipped, “Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” highlighting his disappointment with the technical issues he encountered during his appearance.
In a light-hearted moment, Trump remarked, “All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape.” Unsurprisingly, his comments suggest an attitude toward dismissing the incidents regardless of how serious they are.
It was enough to get U.S. Health Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s attention, who called the situation “grave.” In fact, she said, if Melania Trump hadn’t been so physically fit, the result could have been far grimmer. Even UN staff would laugh and say we should just turn off all of the escalators, observed Leavitt. They jokingly warned that future malfunctions should be blamed on U.S. funding cuts.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.” – Donald Trump
After those incidents, U.S. officials decided to get serious. Leavitt took the position that if UN staffers were willfully trying to embarrass the president and the first lady, there needs to be some accountability. He made clear that accountability is needed for those persons. I will personally see to it.
This comment touches on larger implications about possible criminal behavior occurring with the UN. Leavitt further asserted that if someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator, they “need to be fired and investigated immediately.”