Coverage dated September 22, 2025 to September 23, 2025

Escalatorgate: White House urges probe into Trump UN malfunctions

Headline from Digital Journal, on the newest of 2 developments

President Donald Trump appeared to laugh it off Tuesday when an escalator and a teleprompter both malfunctioned during his United Nations visit.

Digital Journal's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

Sep 23, 2025
Trump knocks UN over escalator, teleprompter malfunctions
Headline from The Hill ·
Sep 24, 2025Newest
Escalatorgate: White House urges probe into Trump UN malfunctions
Headline from Digital Journal ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

15 articles, oldest first.

The Hill
Trump knocks UN over escalator, teleprompter malfunctions (opens The Hill)
Published Sep 22, 2025
The Hill's feed description
President Trump criticizes United Nations over escalator and teleprompter malfunctions, but reaffirms US support for the organization.
Breitbart News
Trump Jabs U.N. over Broken Teleprompter, Broken Escalator (opens Breitbart News)
Published Sep 22, 2025
Breitbart News's feed description
President Donald Trump joked the "two things" he received from the U.N. were "a bad escalator and a bad telemotor" after both malfunctioned.
The New Republic
Turns Out Trump’s Own Team Messed Up U.N. Escalator and Teleprompter (opens The New Republic)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The New Republic's feed description
A U.N. official says Donald Trump’s team was responsible for the “broken” escalator and teleprompter he complained about incessantly.
Digital Journal
Escalatorgate: White House urges probe into Trump UN malfunctions (opens Digital Journal)
Published Sep 23, 2025
Digital Journal's feed description
President Donald Trump appeared to laugh it off Tuesday when an escalator and a teleprompter both malfunctioned during his United Nations visit.
The Boston Globe
After mechanical challenges, UN says Trump’s team to blame for nonworking escalator and teleprompter (opens The Boston Globe)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The Boston Globe's feed description
President 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.
The New Republic
Trump Wants to Fire People Over U.N. Escalator. Who Wants to Tell Him? (opens The New Republic)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The New Republic's feed description
Donald Trump’s own team may have been behind multiple mishaps.
Washington Examiner
Trump's escalator and teleprompter mishaps spark UN sabotage suspicions (opens Washington Examiner)
Published Sep 23, 2025
Washington Examiner's feed description
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited reports that U.N. officials were joking about stunts to pull on Trump before the outages.
The Guardian
Trump angered by ‘bad escalator’ at UN as White House vows to investigate malfunction (opens The Guardian)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The Guardian's feed description
Press secretary speculates the escalator stopped on purpose to humiliate president, but UN says safety function may have been ‘inadvertently triggered’
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
United Nations explains why the escalator stopped as soon as Trump stepped on (opens NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth)
Published Sep 23, 2025
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth's feed description
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that someone at the U.N. may have purposely tried to "trip up" the president and first lady Melania...
CBS News
White House suggests U.N. escalator mishap with Trump "doesn (opens CBS News)
Published Sep 23, 2025
CBS News's feed description
A malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter at the United Nations' headquarters drew President Trump's frustration.
The Columbian
U.N. blames Trump team for escalator and teleprompter malfunctions (opens The Columbian)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The Columbian's feed description
NEW YORK — United Nations officials are blaming President Donald Trump’s team for high-profile snafus affecting an escalator and teleprompter during the president’s Tuesday appearance at the world bod
The Hill
UN blames Trump team for nonworking escalator, teleprompter (opens The Hill)
Published Sep 23, 2025
The Hill's feed description
The United Nations (UN) cast blame on President Trump and the media for a stalled escalator and an inoperable teleprompter on Tuesday, after the president denounced the international body for the technology mishaps ahead of his speech before the General Assembly.

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.