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President Donald Trump’s announcement in the Oval Office about lowering the cost of weight loss drugs was cut short when an attendee passed out behind him.
The Commander-in-Chief appeared stunned at the sudden collapse, turning to check on the attendee before stepping aside and letting staff deal with it.
The announcement was about a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to reduce the prices of GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed the person who passed out was a reprsentative of one of the companies – and was alright.
CEO of Eli Lily, David Ricks, was in the middle of his remarks when the guest collapsed.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
The press was taken out of the room while the man was given medical attention as Trump watched.
‘You saw he went down. And he’s fine. They just sent him out,’ Trump said.
‘He’s got doctors’ care. But he’s fine.’
Ricks later added: ‘Gordon was one of the Lilly guests at the White House today. He became faint, and if you’ve ever been in the Oval Office, you stand a long time, and it’s warm.
‘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.’
It’s not the first time someone has collapsed during a lengthy political speech.
In 2019, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was giving a speech about Brexit when a police recruit collapsed behind him.
The speech was interrupted briefly when she appeared unsteady on her feet and then sat down on the floor.
Johnson asked if she was ‘alright’, then said he would take that as a signal to end his questions.
Recruits had been standing for at least 20 minutes while waiting for the PM to start speaking.
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott posted at the time: ‘Johnson kept these trainees waiting on their feet, and unsurprisingly, one of them appears to have felt faint.’