A guest fainted in the White House, halting US President Donald Trump’s event on lowering the cost of obesity drugs for about an hour. The man, identified as Gordon Finlay, was present in the Oval Office as a representative of one of the pharmaceutical companies.
The video from the press conference is making rounds on the internet, showing how the entire event unfolded. It happened when David Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, was addressing the press when a man, visibly older, began to falter behind him. People around him were quick to react and helped him lie on the ground just before the official medical personnel arrived to assist. Mehmet Oz, Trump's administrator for the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a medical doctor, was also present among the people helping.
Donald Trump, after noticing what was happening behind him, stood up. Standing behind the resolute desk, he watched as the other guests helped the man lie down and then lift his legs above to improve circulation. The media was immediately ushered out of the room. The guests were reportedly standing for about 30 minutes while Trump and others spoke during the event.
Netizens reacting to the situation had different reactions, with most of them finding Trump's reaction to be nonchalant or annoyed. One user shared an image showing Trump standing poker-faced behind his desk as they wrote, "A man at the presser passed out. People were assisting him. This was Trump. Simply annoyed that someone would have the nerve to interrupt his press conference by fainting."
Another user sharing the same image joked that the man fainted due to the pressure to reduce drug prices by Trump. "Yes, he fainted, but he was stressed like traumatized because there was pressure on him to decrease the prices of the medicines, and that’s why he couldn’t handle it lol," wrote the user.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later updated the press on the situation as she stated, "The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay."
After the press returned, Trump acknowledged the situation and said that the man got "a little bit light-headed." He further added, "You saw he went down. And he’s fine. They just sent him out. He’s got doctors’ care. But he’s fine.”
According to The Hill, David Ricks said in a press briefing following the incident, "He became faint, and if you’ve ever been in the Oval Office, you stand a long time, and it’s warm.” He further explained, “pleased to say that the White House medical staff did a great job and he’s doing great. So, nothing to be concerned about. Thanks for your concern.”
Donald Trump on Thursday announced cost-slashing on the most widely used weight-loss medicines, involving pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, in exchange for relief from threatened tariffs.
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