Drama unfolded at the White House yesterday, Thursday, November 6, when a man collapsed as President Donald Trump announced lower costs for weight loss drugs.
For obvious reasons the press conference went viral online in short order, but there was also a good deal speculated about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, and why he appeared to “flee the scene” in the middle of the commotion.
White House officials shouted “Press out,” when a person, who has not been identified, collapsed on the Oval Office floor behind the Resolute Desk.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was in the middle of speaking at a press conference regarding the president’s announcement of his weight-loss drug cost-reduction plan when the incident occurred.
“The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later stated.
Dr Oz was seen helping the person on the floor, while social media was filled with reactions regarding the way Trump simply stood at his desk facing the cameras.
Robert F. Kennedy, meanwhile, caught flack for appearing to “flee the scene”, though a source who was present at the press conference has now revealed that the Health Secretary excused himself in a bid to provide assistance.
As per the PEOPLE, citing the source, Kennedy “went into the other room and got a chair because when [the man] first started falling, he thought maybe he just needed to sit.”
“He went back and got a wet towel and came over and [the man] was on the floor,” the source continues. “When they were first propping him up, Kennedy ran in the other room and got a chair for him.”
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai reacted furiously to a post on X that criticized Kennedy for leaving the room.
“The Secretary rushed to get medical assistance while others tended to the man, you ghoul,” said Desai.
According to PEOPLE’s source, the man who collapsed was in “pretty bad shape”.
“He tried to sit up for a while but he was definitely pale and they laid him down again and then they took him out on a gurney.”
