Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Jilly_in_VA

(13,135 posts)
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 01:24 PM Sep 24

Trump's Thirst for Being Filmed Caused Escalatorgate

The United Nations has hit back at White House conspiracy theories that Escalatorgate was an inside job.

Trump, 79, and first lady Melania, 55, were forced to walk up the escalator at the U.N. headquarters in New York when it malfunctioned ahead of his big speech.

It abruptly stopped, with incredible comic timing, just as Trump stepped onto the moving stairway with the first lady, in front of the world’s media.

The White House said it was probing whether the escalator was intentionally stopped to humiliate him, but the U.N. said Trump’s videographer may have triggered a safety mechanism.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, said in a statement that the escalator may have stopped because Trump’s videographer was walking backwards to film the president and the first lady.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-thirst-for-being-filmed-caused-escalatorgate-un-says/

It was you all along, ya media-hungry pig!

29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump's Thirst for Being Filmed Caused Escalatorgate (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Sep 24 OP
It's a shame that he didn't fall to his doom Orrex Sep 24 #1
Karoline "I Demand Accountability" Leavitt gonna fire the videographer? tanyev Sep 24 #2
When is she going to ask for a Congressional investigation into the horse that took a dump right in front of him colorado_ufo Sep 24 #13
Antifa oats... rubbersole Sep 24 #14
Excellent portrayal of horse and sparrow economic theory Pinback Sep 24 #17
Trump is "probing" the escalator...LOL...Ewwww.... wcmagumba Sep 24 #3
It's his only hope to get a rise Orrex Sep 24 #5
Now you have Vance interested in escalators JustABozoOnThisBus Sep 24 #11
Is this the latest talk-about-this-instead-of-epstein-gate? PSPS Sep 24 #4
Whatever. The final vote for the house discharge petition should be sworn in by business close tomorrow. Volaris Sep 24 #7
Don't worry. There's bound to be a "sudden" loss of enough republican votes. PSPS Sep 24 #21
Its Massie, Mace, Marge and Boebert. ALL of them are utterly maga batshit, Volaris Sep 24 #22
If this had happened to Biden or Obama IcyPeas Sep 24 #6
No hands! I bet Trump can't do that. n/t NH Ethylene Sep 24 #10
And show the World what a Whiny Stupid Cha Sep 24 #16
I was kinda hoping it was true. Passages Sep 24 #8
He humiliates himself whenever he opens his mouth. NNadir Sep 24 #9
Yet another Chumpian LIE! BidenRocks Sep 24 #12
Next they'll make it the 3rd assassination attempt. rubbersole Sep 24 #15
LOL! Pinback Sep 24 #18
Were he and Melania afraid that the escalator was going to take a Radical Left turn? Ping Tung Sep 24 #19
This *must* be fake news usedtobedemgurl Sep 24 #20
Trump was upset because his cankles were inflamed. Emile Sep 24 #23
MaddowBlog-The rapid rise and sudden fall of the United Nations escalator 'controversy' LetMyPeopleVote Sep 24 #24
... An escalator used by Donald Trump abruptly stopped because of a safety mechanism struggle4progress Sep 24 #25
UN says Trump's team to blame struggle4progress Sep 24 #26
There is probably a light beam which operates the sensor. John1956PA Thursday #27
This is getting silly and the internet is responding to trump's fixation on escalators LetMyPeopleVote Thursday #28
This made me smile LetMyPeopleVote Sunday #29

tanyev

(47,928 posts)
2. Karoline "I Demand Accountability" Leavitt gonna fire the videographer?
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 01:37 PM
Sep 24

Or maybe the whole thing will be dropped and forgotten now that they got their 15 minutes of complaining on national TV out of it.

colorado_ufo

(6,154 posts)
13. When is she going to ask for a Congressional investigation into the horse that took a dump right in front of him
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:36 PM
Sep 24

at the parade in England? Surely someone timed the horse's morning hay and oats perfectly to have the horse relieve himself (or herself?) at that exact moment!

Pinback

(13,407 posts)
17. Excellent portrayal of horse and sparrow economic theory
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 04:19 PM
Sep 24

— Trump playing sparrow to his royal betters.

Volaris

(11,084 posts)
7. Whatever. The final vote for the house discharge petition should be sworn in by business close tomorrow.
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:10 PM
Sep 24

Tick tock, motherfucker...

Volaris

(11,084 posts)
22. Its Massie, Mace, Marge and Boebert. ALL of them are utterly maga batshit,
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 07:22 PM
Sep 24

perhaps SO much so that they really do believe this will hurt dems more than trump.

I think it's gonna pass.

IcyPeas

(24,314 posts)
6. If this had happened to Biden or Obama
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:08 PM
Sep 24

they would've laughed and then walked up the escalator.

Trump has to make a spectacle about it.

Obama photographer Pete Souza posted this pic of Obama on that UN escalator… www.instagram.com/p/DO9GFjUEZi...

The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2025-09-24T04:16:34.089Z


Cha

(314,680 posts)
16. And show the World what a Whiny Stupid
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:48 PM
Sep 24

Ass he is... they're laughing at him Even More Now.

NNadir

(36,657 posts)
9. He humiliates himself whenever he opens his mouth.
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:16 PM
Sep 24

He doesn't need a stalled escalator to do that.

He's just too stupid to realize that.

BidenRocks

(2,294 posts)
12. Yet another Chumpian LIE!
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 03:36 PM
Sep 24

His version had them halfway up and almost fell.

BULLSHIT!

They never started to go up before it stopped.

What a WHINER!

Pinback

(13,407 posts)
18. LOL!
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 04:22 PM
Sep 24

Makes me think of him lying on the escalator with his fist raised, yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!” I hate AI slop, so I won’t feed the prompt into an image generator, but somebody probably will.

usedtobedemgurl

(1,851 posts)
20. This *must* be fake news
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 05:02 PM
Sep 24

It says they stopped the escalator to embarrass him? Well, Dr. Push Pills Ronnie said Trump was the healthiest president ever! I have to believe him. Why would he lie? If Trump is that healthy, why would climbing a simple set of stairs embarrass him? I should think it would only embarrass him if they had been lying about how healthy he has been all along. *gasp*

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,526 posts)
24. MaddowBlog-The rapid rise and sudden fall of the United Nations escalator 'controversy'
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 08:19 PM
Sep 24

Some Republicans suggested the U.N. had targeted Donald Trump with an escalator malfunction. Evidently, the truth was more benign.

The rapid rise and sudden fall of the United Nations escalator ‘controversy’ www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Margie (@paeznyc.bsky.social) 2025-09-24T21:18:52.855Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/rapid-rise-sudden-fall-united-nation-escalator-controversy-rcna233450

During his ridiculous address to the U.N. General Assembly, Donald Trump covered quite a bit of ground, but his speech included a curious reference to, of all things, an escalator......

Evidently, the truth was more benign. NBC News reported:

The United Nations has concluded its one-day investigation into the mysterious halting of President Donald Trump’s escalator Tuesday as he arrived at the U.N. General Assembly. The accidental culprit? A White House videographer who most likely tripped a safety mechanism.

A U.N. spokesperson explained: “The escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator. The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing. The [White House] videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above.”.....

All of this, of course, came before the public learned that it was a White House videographer that apparently triggered the escalator’s safety measures.

Kevin Kruse, a historian at Princeton University, noted soon after: “This is the perfect encapsulation of Trumpism — because of its obsession with imagery, the White House crew caused a problem but blamed it on other people, leading to MAGA making threats against the United Nations for their own screw up.”

struggle4progress

(124,703 posts)
25. ... An escalator used by Donald Trump abruptly stopped because of a safety mechanism
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 09:09 PM
Sep 24

that may have been triggered by his videographer, the United Nations has said ...

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, said the videographer reached the top of the escalator as the president and first lady mounted the steps at the bottom.

"At that moment (09:50am), the escalator came to a stop," Dujarric said.

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", he added ...

Safety mechanism caused Trump escalator malfunction, UN says
22 hours ago
Nardine Saad
BBC News

struggle4progress

(124,703 posts)
26. UN says Trump's team to blame
Wed Sep 24, 2025, 09:13 PM
Sep 24

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Updated 10:28 PM EDT, September 23, 2025

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump broke from his prepared remarks at the United Nations on Tuesday to bemoan an inoperable escalator and a defective teleprompter, using the incidents to portray the global body as dysfunctional ...

Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said a videographer from the U.S. delegation who ran ahead of him triggered the stop mechanism at the top of the escalator.

“The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing,” Dujarric said in a statement. “The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function” ...

https://apnews.com/article/trump-un-escalator-teleprompter-ddfc0875301f29d71625b353f2c2f832


John1956PA

(4,499 posts)
27. There is probably a light beam which operates the sensor.
Thu Sep 25, 2025, 04:20 AM
Thursday

The videographer may have been stepping on and off of the top of the escalator which produced a series of breaks in the beam which the sensor interpreted as a person who had fallen.

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,526 posts)
28. This is getting silly and the internet is responding to trump's fixation on escalators
Thu Sep 25, 2025, 05:36 PM
Thursday



I like the Onion's suggestion

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Trump's Thirst for Being ...