(TJV NEWS)  A strange mishap at United Nations headquarters Tuesday morning has triggered accusations of foul play after the escalator carrying President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump suddenly ground to a halt. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt immediately called for an investigation, saying the incident may have been deliberate, the New York Post reported.

“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,” Leavitt wrote on X, citing reports that UN staffers had joked about forcing Trump to walk up the stairs. The Post reported that the Times of London obtained comments from staffers who allegedly floated the idea as a form of protest over Trump’s steep funding cuts to the organization.

The sudden stop caused Melania, wearing high heels, to stumble forward in front of the president. While the adjacent escalator remained functional, the couple chose to walk the frozen steps to the main hall, video footage showed, the New York Post reported.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the safety mechanism had been “inadvertently triggered” by another rider ahead of Trump and that the escalator was quickly reset and restored to service. But the White House expressed skepticism, noting the timing as the president arrived to deliver his address to the 80th UN General Assembly.

Trump, who has slashed about $1 billion in UN funding during his presidency, used the glitch to make a quip during his speech. “I’ve ended seven wars, and all I got from the United Nations was an escalator that stopped halfway up,” he joked, before noting that his wife could have been seriously injured. “If the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen,” the Post reported.

The New York Post noted that some UN staffers had even suggested switching off elevators and escalators to dramatize budget shortfalls, with one remarking that Trump could simply be told the organization “ran out of money.”

Not everyone saw the matter as a joke. Former Secret Service official Rich Staropoli criticized the agents on scene, saying they failed to close ranks when the escalator stopped. “This is not hard. Don’t just stand there,” Staropoli told RealClearPolitics, adding that agents should have immediately shielded the president and first lady. He compared the hesitation to lapses during the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania rally, where Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt, the Post reported.

The Secret Service has not publicly commented on the incident. But Leavitt’s demand for accountability ensures the question of whether the UN escalator jam was an accident — or sabotage — will remain under scrutiny, the New York Post reported.