WASHINGTON — A guest collapsed during an event in the Oval Office — prompting Dr. Mehmet Oz to step in and render aid as former President Donald Trump and others looked on.
The medical episode unfolded on Nov. 6 as the White House held a press event announcing new measures to expand access to obesity medications. Video of the moment showed Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks calling out, “Are you OK? Gordon, you OK?” before the man appeared to lose balance and fall, the New York Post reports.
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Officials quickly instructed reporters to leave the room as Trump rose from behind the Resolute Desk and Oz rushed forward. Witnesses said the man was helped to the floor as Oz, who currently leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, checked on him.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that the man — described as a representative from one of the pharmaceutical companies in attendance — suffered a fainting spell and was “okay” following the incident.
“The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay,” Leavitt said in a statement.
The event resumed a short time later, with Trump telling reporters the attendee “got a little bit lightheaded.”
“You saw he went down, and he’s fine,” Trump said. “We just sent him out and he’s got doctor’s care, but he’s fine. So we had a little bit of an interruption.”
Novo Nordisk, whose executives were among those present, clarified that none of its representatives were involved, adding, “We hope the gentleman who suffered a medical incident today is okay.”
The cause of the fainting was not immediately disclosed. It’s not the first medical scare Oz has experienced at a White House event — earlier this year, his 11-year-old granddaughter fainted during a separate ceremony where he had just been sworn into his current role.
