TRUMP’s escalator drama at the UN could have been caused by one of his own team, officials have said.
The US President and First Lady Melania Trump were left stopped at the bottom of the moving starcase yesterday at the UN building in New York.
ReutersMelania and Donald Trump glared over their shoulders after the escalator at the United Nations headquarters in New York City abruptly stopped[/caption]
UNTV/REUTERSEscalator at UN headquarters immediately stops as Donald Trump and wife Melania step on it shortly after arriving.[/caption]
APTrump and Melania were forced to walk up the escalator[/caption]
It came before Trump delivered a scorched earth speech where he eviscerated the organisation – including blasting them over the broken escalator and a faulty teleprompter.
And the double blunder sparked the President’s fury – with his team launching an investigation into whether it was an act of sabotage.
But now UN officials have said they believe the mishap was actually sparked by one of Trump’s own team.
Awkward footage showed him and wife Melania almost losing their balance before having to trudge up the steps before his keynote speech.
At the top of the stairs, Trump was greeted by a woman, and the first thing he said to her was, “Your escalator just broke.”
With the Secret Service stepping in and Trump’s press sec Karoline Leavitt demanding answers, the United Nations have scrambled to work out what happened.
The UN said a readout from the machine showed the esclator stop was triggered by the safety mechanism being tripped.
And they suggested a videographer in Trump’s team may have “inadvertently triggered” the system.
A UN official said: “A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.”
The esclator was “reset” and was soon back in operation.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, added the teleprompter was being operated by the White House.
Trump’s team however are suspicious – pointing to a report in The Sunday Times which suggested UN staffers could sabotage the esclator in a bid to humilate Trump.
White House spokesman Leavitt said: “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”.
The outraged post was accompanied by screenshot of The Times article, which said “to mark Trump’s arrival, UN staff members have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs”.
When Trump took to the podium for his speech, the teleprompter wasn’t working, while the main UN audio feed to TV news channels switched over to a foreign language translation towards the end of his speech.
Leavitt weighed in further on Tuesday night, telling Fox News: “I put out a statement earlier when there was concerning reporting over the weekend from the London Times”.
“As you pointed out, the UN globalist staffers were basically plotting to set up the president of the United States,” she said.
“And first, it was the escalator, then it was the teleprompter, and then Katie Pavlich from Townhall … noticed the audio inside of the room was much lower and different for the president of the United States than the previous speakers.”
Leavitt said “when you put all of this together, it doesn’t look like a coincidence”.
“I know that we have people, including the United States Secret Service, who are looking into this to try to get to the bottom of it,” she continued.
“If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposely 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.”
The furore came after The Sunday Times reported UN staff had been overheard “joking” before the event about stunts they could pull to highlight the funding shortage faced due to the US withholding promised funds.
Fox NewsHe was forced to climb the stairs ahead of his speech[/caption]
UNTV/REUTERSThe seconds after the glitch halted the president and Melania[/caption]
AlamyHe later descended the escalator without issue[/caption]
Trump later accused the global organisation of being useless after he was forced to trudge up the stairs.
Trump didn’t let go of the annoyances during his speech, later bringing them up as proof.
At one point, Trump accused the UN of merely sending “strongly worded” letters to countries in conflict instead of negotiating peace.
He also praised his own strong-arm approach and said that he was responsible for bringing seven wars to a close.
Ten bombshell quotes from Trump’s speech
“The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots.”
“If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. And if you want peace, love your nation.”
“The UK needs to open up the North Sea and get rid of windmills. Stop relying on Russian oil and start drilling again. That’s how you save your economy.”
“London has been so changed, they want to go to Sharia Law.”
“Whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.” (This remark drew laughter from the audience.)
“If we ever use [nuclear or biological weapons], the world literally might come to an end. There would be no United Nations to be talking about. There would be no nothing.”
“It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. Your countries are going to hell.”
“Climate change is the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
“The United Nations has such great potential, but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”
“Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first.”