Escalator fiasco: When going gets tough

United Nations: An escalator at the UN headquarters halted abruptly just as US President Trump and First Lady Mela­nia stepped onto it, causing a major flutter in the diplomatic circle. The incident happened after a videographer accompanying them likely triggered a safety mechanism inadvertently while trying to capture their arrival and stalled the escalator, a UN spokesperson said. The remark came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt bristled: “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.”

She shared a screenshot of a newspaper article that 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.” The abrupt halt briefly jolted the Trumps, who waited momentarily at the escalator and forced Melania to walk up the stalled escalator, with the President following closely behind.

During his speech Trump joked: “All I got from the UN was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle... And then a teleprompter that didn’t work.