White House guest collapses behind President Trump as ‘medical situation’ cuts off Oval Office press conference

A White House press conference abruptly ended when a man collapsed behind president Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

During the conference, which was being broadcast on Fox News and livestreamed on multiple platforms, an individual stumbled forward and subsequently fell to the ground as Dave Lilly, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, began to speak about the new price reductions in weight loss drugs.

The man, who has yet to be identified, took a heavy step forward, prompting Lilly to pause his remarks and ask, “You okay? Gordon, you okay?”

The men on each side of the individual both grabbed onto his arms in order to support him, and as he continued to move toward the ground, Dr. Mehmet Oz rushed toward him to help lower him to the ground.

White House personnel then cleared the press from the Oval Office, prompting the livestream coverage to abruptly end.

Minutes later, coverage resumed, and President Trump provided an update on the man’s status.

“One of the representatives of one of the companies got a little bit lightheaded,” Trump said. “You saw, he went down. And he’s fine. They just sent him out. He’s got doctor’s care. But he’s fine. So we had a little bit of an interruption. Sorry for that.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed the incident in a statement. “During the Most Favored Nations Oval Office Announcement, a representative with one of the companies fainted,” Leavitt said. “The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay.”

The identity of the man who collapsed is not immediately clear. A representative for Lilly addressed the incident in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

“Today at the White House press conference, one of the guests became overwhelmed by the events of the day and had a brief medical situation,” the spokesperson said. “He is receiving the best medical care.”

A representative from Novo Nordisk, the Ozempic-manufacturing company that was also present at the press conference, tells Entertainment Weekly the fainting man was not Novo Nordisk employee Gordon Findlay, whom the company said was not present at the event, despite incorrect reports that Findlay was the man in question. CEO Mike Doustdar and EVP of US Operations Dave Moore — the two men who helped the fainting man as he fell — were the only two representatives from the company present at the event.

The incident occurred during a conference announcing that the cost of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound will be reduced for Medicare and Medicaid patients.