It’s been a dramatic and, at times, surreal week at the United Nations in New York, where the 2025 General Assembly has unfolded with a flurry of controversy, security incidents, and even late-night comedy fodder. The world’s diplomats gathered to discuss urgent global matters, but attention was repeatedly drawn to a series of incidents involving high-profile political figures — and, unexpectedly, a malfunctioning escalator.
On September 25, 2025, a startling event shook the diplomatic corridors of the United Nations. According to The National News Desk, Patricia Schuh, a 62-year-old woman, was arrested inside the U.N. after physically assaulting a 41-year-old female Trump administration official. The incident occurred just before 6 p.m., as the General Assembly was in full swing. The New York Police Department quickly identified Schuh and charged her with assault and harassment. Officers responding to the scene found the victim suffering from pain and swelling to her face and right eye; emergency medical services treated her on site. The investigation, police said, is ongoing.
The victim, as reported by Fox News Digital, works in international relations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was present in a support role for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The attack, which happened in a supposedly secure environment, raised immediate concerns about security lapses at the U.N. “An HHS official was followed into a bathroom, recorded, physically assaulted and verbally accosted by a deranged leftist at the UN who somehow entered the venue past multiple layers of security,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told the media. She added, “Thankfully, the official is safe, and the lunatic was arrested, but this is part of a disturbing and dangerous set of failures by the UN after their sabotage of President Trump ahead of and during his speech.”
For the staffer who was attacked, the event felt deeply political. As she recounted to Fox News Digital, “The incident felt very political in nature.” She added that Secretary Kennedy “gets a tremendous number of bows and arrows and threats that he deals with, but it seems that it’s not enough, and it is trickling down.”
This assault wasn’t the only controversy to mar the week. Just two days earlier, on September 23, President Donald Trump found himself at the center of another unexpected drama. As he and First Lady Melania Trump were making their way to the Main Speaking Floor, the escalator they were riding suddenly stopped. According to multiple reports, including HuffPost, neither Trump nor Melania was injured; they simply walked up the now-stationary escalator — or, as Stephen Colbert quipped, “sometimes known as stairs.”
But the president wasn’t content to brush off the incident. Trump swiftly demanded an “immediate investigation” into what he called “the three sinister events” that had disrupted his U.N. visit: the escalator’s abrupt halt, a teleprompter malfunction during his address to the General Assembly, and poor acoustics in the hall. In a post on his TruthSocial platform, Trump didn’t mince words: “This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. I’m sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary General, and I demand an immediate investigation.”
However, the United Nations offered a different explanation. As reported by both HuffPost and Fox News Digital, the U.N. stated that the escalator had stopped accidentally, triggered by a member of Trump’s own entourage. No evidence of sabotage or malicious intent was found. This didn’t stop Trump from calling for arrests and further scrutiny, but for many observers, the incident seemed more farcical than sinister.
The episode quickly became late-night television gold. Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, resurrected his “Escalator Investigator” character for two consecutive nights, lampooning Trump’s fixation on the escalator. “Ever since Trump got back into office, he’s been waging a campaign of vengeance against his enemies, who he believes have been trying to take him down,” Colbert joked, as quoted by HuffPost. “Now, he’s focused all of his rage on the one foe who refused to take him up, and that is the U.N. escalator.”
Colbert went on to note, “Nobody was hurt. They walked up the stopped escalator, sometimes known as stairs, but Trump just will not let it go.” The comedian delighted in replaying the footage and even promised, “Because I will enjoy showing that footage every night until May.” That’s when Colbert’s show, which has been canceled, will air its final episode. The satirical coverage underscored how the incident, while momentarily alarming, had become a symbol of the week’s oddities.
The Secret Service also weighed in on the week’s events, telling The National News Desk, “Violence of any kind is never acceptable, and we are reviewing the situation to determine whether there is any protective intelligence nexus. The Secret Service appreciates our partners for their response during this incident.”
Beyond these headline-grabbing moments, the General Assembly itself was marked by high-stakes speeches and diplomatic tension. On September 26, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Assembly with a defiant tone, insisting that Israel “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza. “Western leaders may have buckled under the pressure,” Netanyahu declared, “And I guarantee you one thing: Israel won’t.”
Netanyahu’s speech was met with a dramatic walkout by dozens of delegates from various nations, leaving the hall nearly empty as he began to speak. He sharply criticized leaders who recognized Palestinian statehood, saying, “Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere.” Addressing the 48 remaining hostages taken on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu vowed, “We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.”
While the General Assembly is often a stage for grand pronouncements and diplomatic sparring, this year’s gathering has been especially fraught with off-script moments — from security breaches and alleged sabotage to the spectacle of a world leader’s escalator woes becoming late-night comedy. The juxtaposition of serious global issues with moments of farce has left many diplomats, journalists, and observers shaking their heads — and, in some cases, laughing along with the rest of the world.
As the dust settles on this whirlwind week at the United Nations, the incidents serve as a reminder that in the world of international politics, the unexpected is always lurking just around the corner — or, perhaps, at the top of a stopped escalator.