Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized after hurrying out of a press briefing in the Oval Office on Thursday after a man had a medical emergency and suddenly collapsed.
Kennedy was on hand alongside President Donald Trump, Dr. Mehmet Ozâthe current Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesâand health aides for a press briefing announcing lower costs for weight loss drugs.
A man, later identified as Gordon Findlay, the global brand director for Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk, was standing near Trumpâs desk when he suddenly collapsed while Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks was speaking, causing Ricks to pause mid-remarks.
Oz quickly rushed over and helped catch the man. Oz and others present laid him on the floor as a White House employee instructed members of the press to leave the room. Reporters were then escorted back to the White House Briefing Room.
But before people had even really caught wind of what was even happening, Kennedy was already goneâhaving bolted in a split second once the man went down.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
Many pointed out that the moment shows us exactly how self-serving Kennedy really is.
Speaking to the press later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said "the White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay."
A source who was present at the scene told People magazine that 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."
Amid accusations that Kennedy had "fled the scene," White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai defended him, telling progressive journalist Aaron Ruparâwho had shared a clip of the moment that went viral on Xâthat Kennedy "rushed to get medical assistance while others tended to the man, you ghoul."
I guess we'll have to take his word for it.
