CaliToday (08/11/2025): A high-stakes White House press conference took a dramatic turn Thursday when Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump administration's Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), leaped into action to provide life-saving aid to a pharmaceutical executive who collapsed mid-event.
The incident occurred as President Donald Trump, joined by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and top pharmaceutical leaders, was announcing a historic agreement to lower prices for the popular obesity drugs Wegovy and Zepbound.
The press conference featured executives from both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the two companies involved in the deal.
As Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks was speaking at the podium, Mr. Gordon Findlay, a senior executive from Novo Nordisk, suddenly appeared dizzy, staggered, and began to fall.
Video from the press pool shows Dr. Oz reacting instantly. The famed cardiac surgeon rushed from his position to break Findlay's fall, catching him before he hit the floor. Dr. Oz, aided by two others, then gently lowered the executive onto his back and immediately began assessing his condition and checking his vitals.
President Trump, seated behind the Resolute Desk, immediately rose to his feet and watched the situation closely as White House medical staff were summoned. White House aides promptly asked the press pool to exit the room to give the team space.
The press event resumed approximately 30 minutes later. President Trump addressed the media, confirming the executive was safe.
"One of the representatives from the drug companies felt a little faint, we saw him go down but he is fine," President Trump said. "The doctors here took care of him, and he has been given a clean bill of health."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed the executive's status: "He is now completely stable," she reported, according to the Daily Caller.
The dramatic medical emergency punctuated what the administration is hailing as a major healthcare victory in President Trump's second term securing a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to significantly expand insurance coverage and cut costs for obesity treatments.
Remarkably, this is not the first time the former television star has been forced to use his medical expertise in a high-pressure public setting. In April, during his own swearing-in ceremony, Dr. Oz’s 11-year-old niece, Philomena, fainted unexpectedly. Dr. Oz caught her and rendered aid, helping her regain consciousness in minutes.
He later posted on social media that his niece "recovered quickly and even got to talk with President Trump" after the incident.
CaliToday.Net