A White House press conference turned chaotic yesterday as US president Donald Trump appeared to “fall asleep” while on live TV – and another official collapsed on the ground beside him. Dr Mehmet Oz was laying out the plans for a reduction in the cost of weight loss drugs at the podium, while a sleepy-looking Trump appeared to be slumped in his chair behind the desk.
Though Trump’s eyes did appear to be slightly open, he was blinking slowly and rested his head against the back of the chair as officials stood gathered around him – and left viewers of C-SPAN wondering if he was still awake. One commented: “When Joe [Biden] looks sleepy – fury. When Donald is knocked the f*** out on live TV – masterful gambit sir, pretending to sleep in front of millions will really p*** off those liberals!”
Someone else joked: “He’s sawing logs through the entire press conference.”
“He looks like he is out cold. Could you imagine what Fox and the Republicans would say if Joe had a press conference and did this?” another viewer echoed.
The event had to be quickly halted when one of the guests collapsed behind Trump, appearing to faint and being caught by two other people as he fell to the floor. Dr Oz rushed to help the man and reporters were quickly ushered out of the room.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that the man – who was representing Eli Lilly, one of the companies involved in the deal was “okay”, issuing a statement that said: “The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay.”
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks later explained: “If you’ve ever been in the Oval Office, you stand a long time and it’s warm. I’m pleased to say that the White House medical staff did a great job, and he’s doing great, so nothing to be concerned about.”