Trump escalator stop at UN, White House seeks probe, UN says accident

An escalator at United Nations headquarters in New York abruptly stopped on Tuesday just as President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto it, prompting viral video of the pair climbing the stopped steps, a White House demand for an investigation and a U.N. explanation that the stoppage was likely accidental. The incident occurred as leaders gathered for the U.N. General Assembly, where Trump delivered a wide-ranging address later that morning.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt demanded swift action, posting on X that "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." Her post cited a Sunday report in The Times of London that said some U.N. staff had joked about turning off escalators and elevators on Trump’s arrival in reaction to U.S. funding cuts. Leavitt later told Fox News that the Secret Service was looking into the matter and suggested the incidents, combined with what she described as unusual audio levels during Trump’s speech, could indicate deliberate interference.

The U.N. pushed back, saying the stoppage appears to have been...