The United Nations believes it has solved the mystery of why an escalator abruptly stopped shortly after Donald Trump stepped onto it on Tuesday - his videographer may have accidentally triggered a safety mechanism.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a readout of the escalator’s central processing unit indicated it “had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.”

He said Trump’s videographer had been traveling backwards up the escalator to capture his arrival with First Lady Melania Trump.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I mean, first of all you have to remember he’s afraid of stairs. Probably less so on an escalator because it has big sides but still.

      Melania deserves a lot of shit but she just said fuck it I’m walking and kept moving which was the right thing as it happened. Demented Donny Rapist would have just stood there for another half hour.

      • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Trump’s description of this is so hilarious

        “All I got from the United nations was an escalator that stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen. But she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape.”

        Like I get it I guess but it just became stairs. Are we seriously acting like conquering a flight of stairs is some heroic feat that requires Herculean strength and athleticism?

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      16 hours ago

      Technically, you shouldn’t walk on stopped escalators. There’s the obvious (though less bothersome) issue of the uneven and higher-than-normal rise…but also that escalators aren’t designed for a static load, and other components can suddenly fail, leading to a partial collapse.

      There’s also the issue that the escalator could suddenly start moving again, which, if you’re using them as stairs, could really throw you off (in more ways than one).

      Not trying to side with Trump here…not at all…just pointing out the lesser-known safety concerns of stopped escalators. They aren’t “temporarily stairs”, like Mitch said…especially in high traffic areas, where people of mixed physical capabilities may be using them.