US Seeks Probe As Escalator, Teleprompter Malfunction During Trump UN Visit

President Donald Trump seemingly brushed off two technical malfunctions during his United Nations appearance on Tuesday, but White House officials are demanding answers about the incidents.

The White House has called for an investigation into whether an escalator was deliberately stopped to embarrass the President, who criticized the global organization in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

"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 posted on X.

A UN spokesperson told AFP that the escalator shutdown occurred because someone ahead of Trump accidentally triggered a safety mechanism.

However, Leavitt referenced a Times of London report from Sunday stating that UN staff had joked about turning off the escalators and telling Trump "they ran out of money" amid significant US funding cuts.

Several White House officials and conservative commentators suggested there might be a deliberate plot against the President.

Video footage showed the 79-year-old President and First Lady Melania Trump boarding the escalator at UN headquarters before it abruptly stopped after a short distance.

Trump's difficulties continued when his teleprompter failed at the beginning of his speech.

"Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble," Trump remarked.

He then appeared to humorously connect these incidents to what he described as the UN's failures, including lack of support for his peace initiatives in various conflicts.

"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," Trump stated.

"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."

The United Nations maintained there were straightforward explanations for both incidents.

"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 to AFP.

The escalator was promptly "reset" and returned to operation, he noted.

"Regarding the teleprompter, we have no comment since the teleprompter for the US president is operated by the White House," Dujarric added.

AFP reporters mentioned that escalators at the UN headquarters in New York frequently malfunction.