Leavitt suggests investigating possible sabotage after escalator failure that affected Trump at UN

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called for an investigation and the firing of those possibly responsible for the malfunction of an escalator at the United Nations headquarters, as President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were addressing the General Assembly in New York.

The mishap occurred minutes before the president's speech, when the escalator being used by the presidential couple came to a sudden stop, forcing them to climb the last few rungs on foot.

Suspicions of sabotage

In an interview with Fox News, Leavitt suggested that the episode looked like a deliberate act against the president and confirmed that the Secret Service is already investigating what happened.

"There's was some concerning reporting over the weekend from the London Times… that UN globalist staffers were basically plotting to set up the President of the United States," she said.

The spokeswoman warned that, if intent was proven, those responsible should face immediate consequences.

U.N. version

The international body offered a different explanation. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, stated that a cameraman from the U.S. delegation had inadvertently activated a security mechanism while climbing backward up the stairs to record the arrival of the president.

Additionally, another U.N. official told Fox News that a person from the U.S. delegation or the security team ran up the escalator in the opposite direction, triggering an alarm and causing the machine to stop.

That system, the U.N. explained, is designed to prevent entrapment and stop the machinery immediately. After the incident, the escalator was restarted and, according to Dujarric, there was no indication of an intentional action.