White House Calls For Probe Into Malfunctions Faced By Trump At UN

Last Updated:September 24, 2025, 11:27 IST

The White House called for an investigation after an escalator stopped as Trump and the First Lady entered the UN, following teleprompter issues.

White House calls for investigation into whether a moving stairway and teleprompter at the United Nations malfunctioned on purpose to humiliate Trump. (AFP/X)

The White House on Tuesday called for an investigation into whether the escalator was stopped on purpose to humiliate US President Donald Trump hours after he slammed the United Nations over the ongoing wars.

“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,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.

AFP quoted Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as saying that the mishap happened because someone in front of Trump accidentally set off a safety mechanism on the escalator, causing it to shut down.

Meanwhile, Leavitt cited a report in the Times of London on Sunday saying that UN staff members had joked that they would turn off the escalators and “tell him they ran out of money” amid sweeping US funding cuts.

At the UN meet on Tuesday, Trump’s teleprompter also faced a technical glitch during his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Trump opened his speech by telling world leaders that the teleprompter wasn’t working. “I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” he said.

Trump later said with a grin, “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”

Pointing out the escalator issue, the US President said: “I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations. 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.”

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

After the speech, Trump took to Truth Social to reflect on his UN address, even mentioning the issues with the teleprompter and escalator.

“It was a great honor to speak before the United Nations. I believe the speech was very well received. It focused very much on energy and migration/immigration. I have been talking about this for a long period of time and this Forum, was the absolute best from the standpoint of making these two important statements. I hope everybody gets to watch it!,” the US President wrote.

Pointing out that the teleprompter and escalator mishaps made the speech “more interesting,” he also took a subtle jab at the UN.

Regarding the teleprompter glitch, Dujarric said: “We have no comment since the teleprompter for the US president is operated by the White House.”

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