In an appearance later that evening on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime, Leavitt suggested the malfunction “appears” to be sabotage, pointing to reports that some UN employees had mocked Trump’s visit.

“If we find that these were UN staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally trip up the president and the first lady of the United States, well there better be accountability,” she said.

The U.S. Secret Service is also reviewing the matter, according to Leavitt.

United Nations officials, however, quickly dismissed speculation of intentional wrongdoing. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, told reporters the stoppage was caused by a safety feature.

 

 

According to Dujarric, a videographer from the U.S. delegation had stepped onto the escalator