Trump forced to ab lib intro to UN speech after escalator and teleprompter fail: ‘Big trouble’
New York Post2 days
UN Escalator Malfunction Sparks White House Sabotage Claims
Above: U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump climb an escalator at the United Nations Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025. Image copyright: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
From the dodgy teleprompter and escalator to The Times' report, there is significant evidence to suggest that the president was the target of a petty conspiracy to sabotage his performance. The White House is right to have demanded an investigation into this outrage, which the Secret Service will thoroughly examine.
Narrative B
Technical investigations by the U.N. have proven that the incident concerning the escalator was not intentional, but rather caused by Trump’s own videographer, who accidentally triggered an in-built safety mechanism. This account is confirmed by the machine's CPU, with no evidence existing to support any alternative narrative.
Anti-Trump narrative
The White House hysteria in response to Trump’s pitifully poor speech to the U.N. General Assembly shows that it will push any nonsense to save face. The latest? Karoline Leavitt’s conspiracy theory that the president was the victim of a globalist set-up by U.N. staff, a claim that is as blatantly false as it is utterly absurd.