The great escalator mystery surrounding the UN General Assembly why the moving stairway halted as soon as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walked on it may have been solved, and the world may finally rest comfortable.
Spoiler alert: the UN clarified that it wasn't sabotage. Not an attempt to degrade or kill the President of the United States. Trump's personal videographer was involved.
A built- n safety mechanism was activated, according to the escalator's central processing unit, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told Reuters.And who is the offender? Trump's personal videographer. Dujarric went on to say that in order to record the couple's spectacular entrance, Trump's cameraman was apparently going backwards up the escalator. The safety comb step at the top is thought to have been tripped by him.
"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 deadpan statement to Reuters.
A video that shows Trump and Melania getting on the escalator has been making the rounds on social media.
While Trump looked around as if he had just been pranked, the First Lady, unconcerned, simply marched up the now-stationary steps.
"That's fairly serious; when a head of state is involved, what appears to be a small-time "joke" could turn into a security problem.
One user commented, "If deliberate, it's not only disrespectful and unprofessional, but also dangerous."
Another person commented, "Nice way to treat your biggest funder,"
"I loved how the First Lady didn't even blink and kept going up the escalators," someone said.
Trump didn't let the chance to make a joke go through his fingers. "These are the two things I got from the United Nations a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter," he subsequently quipped to the 193 member assembly.
But the White House wasn't amused and launched an investigation after taking the issue seriously.
Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, called for a thorough investigation, saying, "If someone at the UN purposefully stopped the escalator, they need to be fired and investigated immediately."
