Insider Explains Where RFK Jr. Was Really Going When He Ran Away from Fainting Man in Viral Oval Office Clip

An insider who was in the Oval Office when a man collapsed during President Donald Trump’s announcement about lower costs for weight-loss drugs is clarifying what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did amid the chaos.

Videos from the Thursday, Nov. 6, press conference quickly circulated online, showing the Health and Human Services Secretary appearing to leave the room while others rushed to help. Social media users criticized Kennedy for seemingly “fleeing the scene” as Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hurried over to catch the man’s fall. With the help of several others, Oz laid the man down as Kennedy walked away and another attendee mentioned fetching a chair.

According to an insider present at the event, “three doctors” surrounded the man when he collapsed as Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks was speaking. The source explained that Kennedy initially believed the man only needed to sit and “went into the other room and got a chair.” He then returned with a wet towel once it was clear the man had fainted. “When they were first propping him up, Kennedy ran in the other room and got a chair for him,” the source added.

White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai later defended Kennedy on X, writing, “The Secretary rushed to get medical assistance while others tended to the man, you ghoul,” in response to criticism online.

The insider described the man as being in “pretty bad shape.” While conscious and with a normal heart rate, his blood pressure had “tanked.” “He tried to sit up for a while but he was definitely pale and they laid him down again, and then they took him out on a gurney,” the source said.

After the incident, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the man was doing “okay” and that the press conference would resume. Once it restarted, Trump addressed the situation, explaining that “one of the representatives of one of the companies got a little light-headed and so they went down, and he’s fine.” He added, “He’s got doctor’s care, but he’s fine. So we had a little bit of an interruption. Sorry for that.”

Although Getty Images initially identified the man as Gordon Findlay, global brand director for Novo Nordisk, the company later clarified to multiple outlets that Findlay was not present at the event.