A pharmaceutical executive collapsed in the Oval Office on live television Thursday during a press conference about the Trump administration’s deal to lower the cost of some obesity drugs.
The unnamed executive was standing in a group behind the podium while Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks spoke. As he began to fall, multiple men including Dr. Mehmet Oz attempted to hold him up before he collapsed to the floor.
“A representative with one of the companies fainted,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is OK.”
The press conference was briefly paused as reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office while the man received medical care. It resumed shortly afterward without him.
“One of the representatives of one of the companies got a little light-headed and so they went down,” President Trump said after the press was allowed back in. “He’s got doctor’s care, but he’s fine. So we had a little bit of an interruption. Sorry for that.”
Reports initially identified the fainting man as Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay, but the company later said he was not in attendance for the presser.
Novo Nordisk sells the popular weight loss drug Wegovy, which costs about $500 per month for some doses and is rarely covered by insurance. Eli Lilly, whose execs were also in attendance, sells another popular obesity drug, Zepbound. The company said it would knock $50 per month off the cost of Zepbound for weight loss.
