President Donald Trump had a difficult time at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Trump, 79, headed to the U.N. to address the global organization’s General Assembly meeting on Sept. 23. He was joined by his wife, first lady Melania Trump, his Secret Service detail, and senior administration officials.
Trump and Melania, 55, walked past reporters shouting questions at them as they headed toward the escalators inside the building, only to be jolted when the escalator suddenly came to a stop.
To the Trumps’ shock, the automated steps stopped the moment after Trump stepped on the escalator after Melania, forcing their entire entourage to walk up the remainder of the way.
The couple were eventually greeted at the top of the escalator, where Trump shook hands with an unknown woman whom he told, “Your escalator just broke.”
The greeter appeared to very stoically say, “Oh my goodness, they are fixing it.” She then shook the hand of a slyly smiling Melania as cameras captured the exchange.
Clips of Trump and Melania’s graceless entrance at the U.N. hit social media almost instantly, with many mocking the awkward moment in front of the worldwide media.
“So! The escalators at the UN stopped the second Trump and Melania got on. What were they thinking about?” a self-described Democratic Party supporter tweeted.
Another X user joked, “I feel bad for the agent who had [Trump’s] pungent a– right in his face while walking up.” A second cheeky reply took a jab at Trump’s weight, writing, “Weight load exceeded.”
A third person posted, “Melania took off so she wouldn’t have to hold his hand to help him walk up stairs.”
One angered MAGA supporter immediately jumped to the idea of a conspiracy taking place, tweeting, “In all seriousness, if the stopped escalator was an act of sabotage, whoever is responsible must be severely punished. Melania lost her balance and had to quickly grab the rails. The President and First Lady could have fallen and been injured.”
Comments on the Forbes Breaking News YouTube channel had more favorable reactions toward Trump and Melania having to walk up the U.N.’s escalator steps.
Another commenter wrote, “not a coincidence.”
Trump couldn’t let the escalator fiasco go. During his U.N. speech, he revisited Melania’s near fall, turning the global stage into a rant about the mishap.
“If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen,” he said.
Melania’s almost tumble mirrors the time Trump saved her from completely falling as she boarded Marine One on the White House lawn in 2018. She tripped while wearing a long blue navy coat and high-heeled tan boots.
I really love this. President Trump caught Melania when she tripped and she thanked him beautifully
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) March 8, 2025
I absolutely love these two ❤️ pic.twitter.com/naG4bvx0lx
She seemed gracious as she put her arm around her husband’s back after he caught. Although Trump didn’t appear to catch Melania this time around, he was quick to keep moving as cameras captured the tense moment.
