ID Of Healthcare Exec Who Collapsed During Oval Office Briefing With Trump Still Not Clear

By Joe Lombardi From Daily Voice

The identity remains uncertain for a healthcare executive who collapsed during a white House announcement that turned chaotic.

The interruption happened Thursday afternoon, Nov. 6 during an Oval Office event on efforts to reduce costs for weight-loss drugs.

As Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks spoke, a man standing behind him collapsed. Staff ushered reporters out and the live stream ended. Medical personnel moved in quickly.

Among those who rushed to help was Dr. Mehmet Oz, the  Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who was on hand for the event. He helped break the man’s fall.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “a representative with one of the companies fainted” and that “The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay.” 

The man was initially identified by reporters as Gordon Findlay, a Denmark-based Novo Nordisk executive. 

However, Novo Nordisk later denied that it was him. The man was reportedly a guest of another pharmaceutical company, but his name has not been publicly disclosed.

When the conference restarted, President Trump addressed what happened. 

“One of the representatives of one of the companies got a little light-headed and so they went down, and he’s fine,” Trump said. “He’s got doctor’s care, but he’s fine. So we had a little bit of an interruption. Sorry for that,” he added before asking Ricks to continue.

He was described by officials as a representative of one of the participating companies, which included Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The event then continued with prepared remarks on pricing and access to new obesity therapies.

The press conference resumed a short time later without the man who fainted and was receiving medical care.

CSPAN

The episode unfolded quickly and ended the same way. The focus returned to the policy discussion once staff confirmed the attendee was receiving care.