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U.S. President Donald Trump narrowly escaped death on Tuesday after his supporters were presented when a escalator at the United Nations headquarters stopped briefly. For right commentators, this was a targeted sabotage act, who suspended him a hypothetical fire line.
Trump’s obsession with escalators
The 79-year-old president actually had to get up a staircase-after the device stopped, when he and first Lady Melania Trump appeared. Trump hesitated confused before he followed his wife.
Trump has been fixed on escalators for years – not least because he announced his candidacy in 2015 on a gold escalator in the Trump Tower. He could hardly accept that this symbol of all places let him down. Instead of accepting the explanation of the UN – his own cameraman accidentally triggered the security mechanism – Trump spoke of Sabotage.
In his speech before the General Assembly, he wailed: “These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
The white house reacted sharply. Press spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said: “If someone deliberately stopped the escalator, they must be fired and examined immediately.”
Reactions from right
Trump’s media allies struck similar tones. FOX moderator Jesse Watters demanded that the United States should “either leave the UN” or “bomb it”. Commentator wants Chamberlain tweeted: “If someone wanted to murder Trump, it was a perfect moment to let him freeze.”
Back in the Oval Office, Trump spoke to Trump on Truth Social, possibly “triple sabotage” – escalator, teleprompter, audio. He called for arrests: “It is a miracle that Melania and I didn’t fall. It was clearly sabotage.”
Escalating fantasies
Trump referred to a report by the “London Times” that UN employee had been involved in switching off the escalator. He asked to secure all security recordings that the secret services were involved.
His words fueled the debate. From danger to death to bizarre scenarios-Trump-allied languages of “meat grinder-like pregnancy” or a “massive risk”. Fox presenter Maria Bartiromo warned: “The president could have been extremely vulnerable.” MP Greg Steube said: “It was no coincidence.”
Political Politics
In truth, Trump only threatened a little movement that may be problematic for his constitution. But the excitement is less about real danger, but about the fear of international embarrassment.
Trump’s speech was already an hour full of self -adherence and false claims. But for his followers, the image of a weak man who fails due to a defective escalator is far more threatening. The reflex: react with hardness.
When the power symbol crumbles
It is the same reason why harmless gestures such as a sandwich throw are considered “attack” or why critical reports are sued: In Trump’s world, no weakness may be visible. Every mistake is reinterpreted as an attack that must be countered with authority and punishment.
So his allies are now calling for the UN to leave or even attacks on New York. And all of this because Trump had to go up a staircase.
From laughter to Paranoia
In 2018, the delegates were still laughing when Trump praised himself in front of the UN. Nobody laughs today – the country has democratically lost ground in recent years. The United States is no longer at the top of world politics. And the president is desperately looking for a escalator that carries him unhindered in absolute authority. Everything else is sabotage for him.