Donald Trump's UNGA Escalator Complaint Triggers Conspiracy Theories, United Nations Intervenes

New York City: The whole world was tuned into see what US President Donald Trump would say at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday September 23. However, what received most attentions was his complaints regarding escalators and teleprompter. Delivering his speech, Trump told the global body, "All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle... and then a teleprompter that didn't work," he said.“If the First Lady wasn't in great shape, she would've fallen. But she's in great shape. We're both in good shape. We both stood.” 

What was intended to be a significant diplomatic moment quickly transformed into an unexpected comedy of technical errors. At approximately 9:50 AM, as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump entered the UN headquarters through the delegates' entrance, their routine arrival took an unexpected turn. The presidential couple approached the main escalator leading to the second floor, accompanied by a White House videographer walking backwards to capture their entrance. Just as they stepped onto the moving stairway, the escalator jolted to a sudden stop, leaving them momentarily stranded before they climbed the remaining steps manually. The technical troubles didn't end there. During Trump's address to the General Assembly, his teleprompter malfunctioned, forcing him to ad-lib portions of his speech to world leaders.

Conspiracy Theories Take Flight

In the grand tradition of turning molehills into mountains, the digital masses immediately went to work. Was this mere mechanical failure, or something more sinister? The first theory that quickly gained heat was of a UN Sabotage Squad. According to this school of thought, deep within the bowels of the UN building lurks a secret society of rogue maintenance workers, armed with nothing but wrenches and anti-American sentiment. Their mission? To embarrass world leaders one broken escalator at a time. The evidence? Well, the escalator did stop, didn't it? 

Another theory drew connections with the teleprompter. Some people claimed this proved a coordinated technical attack, suggesting the two incidents were too coincidental to be accidental. A more benign conspiracy suggested the incidents were actually security tests designed to observe how the presidential security detail would respond to unexpected situations. More elaborate theories proposed that foreign diplomats or UN bureaucrats coordinated the technical failures to undermine Trump's credibility before world leaders. These claims lacked any supporting evidence but gained traction among certain online communities. Fox News host Jesse Watters declared it sabotage, apparently operating under the theory that international diplomats have nothing better to do than plot escalator-based pranks.

The most compelling piece of "evidence" cited by conspiracy theorists came from a Times of London report published just days before Trump's visit. The article claimed that UN staff members had joked about turning off escalators during Trump's arrival and simply telling him "they ran out of money" due to US funding cuts. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt specifically referenced this report, suggesting the timing was "too coincidental" and demanding investigations. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance used the opportunity to praise Trump's ability to deliver speeches without teleprompters-because nothing says presidential competence like adapting to basic technical difficulties.

THEY WERE WAITING AND WATCHING TRUMP The escalator freezes the second President Trump and Melania step on. Just Sunday, a Times piece said UN staff joked about doing exactly this this a staged humiliation? twitter/TiSDZ9l0Xo

- HustleBitch (@HustleBitch_) September 23, 2025

What Really Happened?

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, playing the role of the straight man in this comedy of errors, offered what conspiracy theorists call "the official cover story." According to Dujarric, a safety mechanism was triggered when the backward-walking videographer from Donald Trump's team confused the escalator's sensors, causing it to think someone might have got caught in the mechanical gears. 

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