Donald Trump’s trip to the 80th United Nations General Assembly literally started off on the wrong foot when an escalator failed as he was riding up with First Lady Melania Trump. Now, the White House is demanding an investigation and immediate firings over the fact that they had to climb a flight of stairs.
The situation was all caught on camera. Trump was walking a few strides behind the first lady when the escalator suddenly stopped just as they approached it. They simply went up the stairs — because these are grown-ups after all. The ever-advancing ages of presidents have inadvertently made going up steps newsworthy. Both Trump and former President Joe Biden have had mishaps on the Air Force One stairs, after all. Still, nobody really expected the Trump administration to blow this situation up the way they did.
When Trump finally gave his speech, his teleprompter cut out. He decided to wing it, continuing with a lecture to the UK on its immigration policy and alleging that Sharia Law was coming next for London. He then pushed his repeatedly debunked claim that he stopped seven wars in seven months and therefore deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout the speech, however, Trump kept pausing to remind everyone present that he was displeased that the teleprompter and the escalator had both failed when he needed them.
Naturally, the next step was members of the Trump administration humoring him with calls to action over this mundane situation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to X to cite a previous post by The Times that speculated UN employees might stage a mini-protest of Trump’s continual defunding of UN programs by switching off the escalator just as he went to use it.
As of now, it’s not clear whether it was simply a coincidence. That’s unlikely, Leavitt insisted, and she called for an investigation and firings. Her response on X was sharp — one user shot back that they should release the Epstein files first, as is often demanded when the Trump administration makes new accusations. Tim Walz mocked the entire premise, joking it was a “miracle” Trump even made it up the steps. Another user quipped: “If escalator sabotage is now a national security threat, I demand a full congressional hearing — with stairs.” One more joked that Trump’s next executive order might brand escalator operators as terrorists — which, sadly, isn’t even that far out of the realm of possibility.
If escalator sabotage is now a national security threat, I demand a full congressional hearing-with stairs.
— Aadil Amin (@AadilAmin05) September 24, 2025
Preferably 25 of them. Let’s see who’s really fit for office
Investigated? For what? You think this was some kind of Antifa attack? JFC, you guys are OOFC. Release the Epstein files and Homan tapes. Do something worthwhile.
— The Great Gig in the Sky (@thegreatgig8) September 23, 2025
i fully expect an executive order labeling them terrorists known for their dangerous escalatory threats, followed by dronestrikes
— uncommon sense (@uncommon_cns) September 24, 2025
Whether protest or coincidence, all that really happened was Trump going up a few steps and winging another speech, as he always does. President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, had his own hiccup during the lead-up to the UNGA when his entourage and security detail were held up by Trump’s team. Macron was classy about it, even calling Trump on camera and laughing at the mix-up. With everything on Macron’s plate — politically and personally — the moment actually humanized him and made him more relatable to his detractors.
Maybe Trump should also consider being classy about this whole debacle, for once.
