White House Demands Investigation After Escalator Incident at UN During President Trump’s Arrival

The White House is calling for an immediate investigation following an incident at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday morning, where an escalator suddenly stopped as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were stepping on—raising serious concerns about a potential security breach.

“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,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. She referenced reports that some UN staffers have previously stopped escalators to force President Trump to use the stairs.

President Trump returned to the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a major address Tuesday, arriving at the building at approximately 8:50 a.m. According to earlier reporting by TGP, both the President and First Lady entered the building and approached the escalators, which were surrounded by staff and security. There were two escalators operating at the time.

First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto the left escalator, followed closely by President Trump. Just as the President stepped on, the escalator came to a sudden stop—while the adjacent escalator continued running.

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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 Times reported this on Sunday.👇 pic.twitter.com/NitsWbGYG0

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 23, 2025

Reacting quickly, Melania Trump began walking up the halted escalator, with President Trump and his security team following closely behind.

Secret Service sources later expressed concern to RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree, noting that the President was left briefly stalled and exposed. “Sources in the Secret Service community are very concerned about what they witnessed from fellow agents today when President Trump was stalled and vulnerable,” Crabtree reported. “It’s a similar critique to the Secret Service’s delayed response in getting Trump off stage after a bullet grazed his ear on July 13.”

Leavitt confirmed that the Secret Service is now actively investigating the incident.

“If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up President Trump and FLOTUS, well, there better be accountability for those people,” Leavitt said.

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