Who stopped Trump’s escalator, messed with teleprompter at UN? His videographer and White House, apparently

‘A bad teleprompter and a bad escalator’ were the two problems US President Donald Trump came across during his visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

He joked about the situation in his address to world leaders after the teleprompter failed to function.

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It took about a minute before the speech appeared on the screen, and he was able to continue, though the technical trouble seemed to have bothered him.

So what really happened during Trump’s visit to the United Nations?

Let’s take a look:

The escalator slip

As Trump made his way to deliver his address, the escalator he had just stepped on suddenly stopped, leaving him to walk up instead.

Trump and Melania arrived together at the UN building, ahead of his much-anticipated speech.

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The first lady, dressed in a white pantsuit, walked beside him as photographers called out for pictures.

NEW: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calls for investigation after a UN escalator shut off as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stepped on.

According to The Times, UN staff members had previously "joked" about turning off the escalator.

"To mark Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/UE1AFdCn2R

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 23, 2025

Trump smiled, presented a quick “thank you,” and then stepped onto the escalator.

Moments later, it came to a standstill, causing both of them to pause.

Melania immediately walked up the stalled escalator, with Trump following behind. Their aides and officials accompanying them chose to take the stairs instead.

What happened to the teleprompter?

Once Trump reached the podium at the General Assembly, another issue cropped up. His teleprompter stopped working right at the beginning, forcing him to continue without it.

He joked that the person responsible for running the machine “is in big trouble.”

“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” Trump told the gathering.

TRUMP: "I ended seven wars ... I never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help..."

"These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much." pic.twitter.com/3SeYZVwmiY

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 23, 2025

He then joked, “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”

Within minutes, he was seen reading from printed notes instead.

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much,” he said.

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White House calls for probe into escalator mishap

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fumed over the incident and said that if anyone at the United Nations “intentionally” stopped an escalator just as Trump and Melania stepped on, “they need to be fired and investigated immediately.”

Leavitt’s call on X came hours after an escalator at the UN suddenly stopped as the Trumps got on it, shortly before he gave his speech to the General Assembly in New York.

In her post, Leavitt referred to an article from the British newspaper, The Times.

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.twitter.com/NitsWbGYG0

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 23, 2025

The paper on Sunday reported that UN staff, ahead of Trump’s visit, “have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs.”

She added, “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.”

Why did the escalator stop? What did the UN say?

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a check of the escalator’s main control system showed it “had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.”

He told Reuters that Trump’s videographer had been moving backwards up the escalator to film his entry with Melania Trump.

“The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function,” Dujarric said in a statement.

“The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing.”

The UN official added that the White House had used its own teleprompter.

Dujarric earlier told AFP that the escalator had been “reset” and was quickly working again.

“Regarding the teleprompter, we have no comment since the teleprompter for the US president is operated by the White House,” he said.

After Trump ended his speech, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said: “The U.N. teleprompters are working perfectly.”

During his speech, Trump said, “Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex.”

He said that at the time he offered to carry out the work for $500 million, including rebuilding and everything, and that it would be beautiful.

He said the UN later chose “another direction,” which was “much more expensive at the time” and “produced a far inferior product.”

With inputs from agencies