Republican Rollan Roberts II was criticized online for his slow reaction to his pregnant wife fainting as he announced a 2024 presidential bid.
Roberts, a West Virginia businessman seeking the Republican nomination for President in 2024, was in the middle of extolling the virtues of our "free enterprise system" when his wife Rebecca—who is five months pregnant—fainted in the rotunda of West Virginia's Capitol building.
A man standing next to Rebecca Roberts caught her before her head hit the floor, knocking over an American flag in the process.
But Roberts himself merely stood there and even tried to continue with his speech, only turning to tend to his wife after a few more excruciating seconds had passed.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
Roberts' slow response was quickly mocked by social media users and at least one person dubbed him #QuickResponseRoberts.
Roberts is the son of West Virginia State Senator Rollan Roberts, who said that while his son's campaign announcement was a surprise, he is nonetheless supportive of him and others who "have the right skill set to help Americans and not just get into these special interests debates and divisive behaviors."
The younger Roberts said much of his campaign will focus on reducing the national deficit because the United States is "broke" and infrastructure pales in comparison to what he saw and experienced while traveling in places like the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
He is also campaigning on fixing public education by changing the time children start and end their school days and making bachelor's degrees run parallel with high school education to increase opportunities for graduates.
Complicating Roberts' newly announced campaign—aside from the fact he stood by and continued speaking as his wife fell to the ground—is his low profile outside of West Virginia, where his father, a pastor, has been an administrator at Victory Baptist Academy in Raleigh County since 1988.
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