Trump mocks UNGA escalator trouble, says ‘If the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen’ | Watch
President Donald Trump opened his UN General Assembly speech with humor, joking about a stalled escalator. He quipped, “If the First Lady wasn't in great shape, she would've fallen!” drawing laughter from attendees.
US President Donald Trump opened his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York with a lighthearted joke about the UNGA escalator.
"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," Trump said.
Later, he said his teleprompter was inoperable.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” Trump said. “I can only say that whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.”
For several minutes, Trump appeared to read from a printed copy of his remarks before the teleprompter resumed functioning.
Trump Escalator mishap sparks White House concerns
Trump appeared unfazed when an escalator and a teleprompter malfunctioned during his visit to the United Nations in New York. However, the White House treated the incidents as a serious concern.
The White House demanded a probe into whether the escalator was deliberately stopped to embarrass the President.
“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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
UN response
A UN spokesman told AFP that the escalator shut down because someone in front of Trump accidentally triggered a safety mechanism.
“The safety mechanism was inadvertently triggered by someone who was ahead of the president on the escalator,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, explained.
He added that the escalator was quickly “reset” and returned to normal operation.
Teleprompter issue
Regarding the teleprompter malfunction, Dujarric said, “We have no comment since the teleprompter for the US president is operated by the White House.”
Background on Escalator issues
AFP reporters noted that escalators at UN headquarters in New York are often out of order. Leavitt also referenced a report from the Times of London suggesting that UN staff had joked about turning off the escalators amid US funding cuts, though this claim has not been independently verified.