There was a brief commotion on Thursday during a White House event led by U.S. President Donald Trump as a guest fainted inside the Oval Office.
The fainting of the guest fainted during an announcement on efforts to reduce the cost of obesity drugs, resulted in a brief interruption of the event.
The guest, identified by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as a representative of one of the participating health care companies, reportedly suddenly collapsed while Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks was delivering his speech.
It was learnt that the guest, who was standing alongside administration officials and pharmaceutical executives behind the President’s desk, appeared to lose consciousness and was helped to the ground by those nearby.
“You OK?” Ricks was heard asking as Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and others quickly moved in to assist.
President Trump rose from behind the Resolute Desk to observe the situation as reporters were ushered out of the room.
Leavitt said the guest was given prompt medical attention and was “doing fine.”
When the press was later allowed back into the Oval Office, Trump reassured journalists that the guest had only felt light-headed.
“You saw he went down. And he’s fine. They just sent him out. He’s got doctors’ care. But he’s fine,” Trump said.
It was learnt that the brief interruption and health scare resulted in a temporary pause in the event, which had been ongoing for about 30 minutes before the incident occurred.
This was the second fainting incident at the White House this year. Recall that in April, a young girl reportedly fainted during Mehmet Oz’s swearing-in ceremony, though she was said to have quickly recovered.
