The annual United Nations General Assembly is usually a meticulously staged affair, with world leaders converging in New York to deliver speeches and engage in high-stakes diplomacy. But this year, President Donald Trump’s appearance on September 23, 2025, was anything but routine. What unfolded was a series of technical mishaps—an abrupt escalator stop, a malfunctioning teleprompter, and audio issues in the assembly hall—that the president and his supporters have since described as a calculated act of “triple sabotage.” The controversy, quickly dubbed “Escalatorgate” on social media and in the press, has ignited a political firestorm, drawing in the White House, United Nations officials, late-night comedians, and cable news hosts.
It all began as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump entered the UN complex. The couple stepped onto the escalator leading to the Main Speaking Floor, only for it to suddenly screech to a halt. The abrupt stop almost sent them tumbling forward onto the sharp metal steps, but both managed to keep their balance by gripping the handrails tightly. The dramatic moment, captured on video, was soon circulating online, with footage showing Melania quickly taking the lead and walking up the stationary steps, Trump following close behind. According to The Times of London, some UN staffers had even joked earlier in the week about shutting down escalators—a detail Trump would later cite as evidence of a possible plot.
But the troubles didn’t end there. Moments later, as Trump approached the iconic green marble podium to address the General Assembly, his teleprompter failed. For roughly 15 minutes, the president was forced to ad-lib his remarks, a challenge he later claimed to have handled with aplomb. “I immediately thought to myself, ‘Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?’” Trump wrote in a 357-word statement posted on his Truth Social platform the following day. The teleprompter eventually resumed, but the disruption had already rattled the proceedings.
Then came the third and final blow: reported audio problems in the General Assembly Hall. According to Trump, many delegates were unable to hear his speech unless they used interpreters’ earpieces. After concluding his remarks, he asked Melania for her opinion. “How did I do?” he reportedly asked. Her reply, as recounted by Trump: “I couldn’t hear a word you said.”
In his statement, Trump left no doubt about his suspicions. “A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday – Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!” he wrote. “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.” He called for all security footage of the escalator area to be preserved, especially around the emergency stop button, and noted that the Secret Service was already involved.
The White House quickly echoed the president’s concerns. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing on Fox News, declared, “There was some concerning reporting over the weekend that UN globalist staffers were basically plotting to set up the president of the United States.” She continued, “If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up – literally trip up – the president and the first lady of the United States. Well, there better be accountability for those people, and I will personally see to it.” Leavitt also posted on X, stating, “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.”
Yet the United Nations offered a different story. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres, released a statement explaining that a US videographer, walking backward on the escalator to film the Trumps’ arrival, likely triggered a built-in safety mechanism known as the “comb step.” This feature is designed to halt the escalator if an object or person gets too close to the gearing at the top or bottom, preventing injuries. “The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function,” Dujarric clarified. A UN technician was able to reset the escalator after the group reached the second floor, and a diagnostic check confirmed the safety mechanism had been triggered as intended.
On the matter of the teleprompter, the UN pointed out that it was operated by White House staff, not UN personnel. As for the audio, Dujarric explained that speeches in the General Assembly are heard through personal headsets at each delegate’s seat, with simultaneous translations into six languages. Video evidence showed delegates reacting in real time to Trump’s comments, suggesting they could hear him despite his claims. At one point, the president even quipped, “These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” drawing chuckles from the audience.
Still, the controversy only grew. Fox News host Jesse Watters, on “The Five,” called the situation “an insurrection,” adding, “what we need to do is either leave the UN or we need to bomb it.” His inflammatory remarks, delivered amid laughter from his co-hosts, underscored the level of partisan outrage the incident had provoked. Watters later joked, “You know what I think we should do to the UN? Write a strongly worded letter.”
Meanwhile, late-night comedians like Stephen Colbert lampooned what they saw as right-wing hysteria over “Escalator-gate.” Donning a deerstalker hat and pipe in a mock tribute to Sherlock Holmes, Colbert poked fun at the conspiracy theories swirling around the technical glitches.
The Secret Service, for its part, has launched an investigation into the events, focusing on reviewing security camera footage, examining the escalator’s emergency stop mechanism, and interviewing relevant UN staff and White House personnel. While escalator stoppages at the UN are not unheard of—often tied to budget shortfalls and safety protocols—the convergence of three technical issues during Trump’s visit was, by any standard, highly unusual.
This latest incident comes against a backdrop of longstanding friction between Trump and the United Nations. Throughout his presidency, Trump has repeatedly questioned US financial contributions to the body and called for sweeping reforms. The “Escalatorgate” saga, with its mix of high drama, political theater, and viral social media moments, has only deepened the divide—at least for now.
As the investigation unfolds, the world waits to see whether the events of September 23 were, as Trump insists, a coordinated act of sabotage, or, as the UN maintains, an unfortunate string of technical mishaps. For now, one thing is certain: this year’s General Assembly will be remembered less for the substance of its speeches and more for the spectacle that played out on its escalators and airwaves.
