The Late Show host Stephen Colbert roasted President Trump for his nonchalant reaction to a man collapsing right behind him at a meeting in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump, 79, was pictured standing idly by when a guest stumbled and collapsed at the event, with pharmaceutical executives and government officials gathered for a press conference about a deal to lower the cost of some obesity drugs.
The chaos didn’t appear to faze the president, who slowly rose from his seat at the Resolute Desk and looked silently on at the cameras with a vacant expression as others rushed to lay the man out on the ground.
Host Colbert drew his audience’s attention to a photo from the scene, which has gone viral. The image shows a blank-faced Trump as officials rushed to attend to the man who collapsed.
“Honestly, it was good to see everybody rushed to help him,” Colbert said. “Well, almost everybody, because this photo has been going around. Take a look at this viral photo from after the fainting.”
“Look at that. That—they got his legs up and everything. That picture is worth a thousand words, none of which I can say on CBS,” said Colbert.
“As I said, the fella is OK, but I’m sure that was scary. But thankfully, the room was full of exactly who you want in a medical emergency... pharmaceutical executives,” Colbert teased to a laughing audience. “Quick, quick, someone maximize shareholder value!”
It remains unclear why the man collapsed. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the man was a guest of one of the healthcare companies in attendance, Eli Lilly, and that he was OK.
There are several reports that the person was a patient who uses a GLP-1 drug.
“The White House medical unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay,” Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump resumed the event at the Oval Office on Thursday, about an hour after the chaos unfolded, and said the man was “fine.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Eli Lilly’s chair and CEO, David Ricks, said the man who fainted is now doing “great.”
“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. Thanks for your concern,” said Ricks.
Colbert and Trump have traded barbs consistently during the president’s second term in office.
When CBS blindsided Colbert by announcing it would cancel his show in May 2026, Trump appeared to revel in the news on Truth Social, writing, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired... His talent was even less than his ratings.”
The show’s cancellation was announced shortly after CBS’s parent company, Paramount, agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over edits to a 60 Minutes pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.
Colbert dubbed the deal “a big fat bribe.”
CBS said the decision to axe the show was “purely a financial one against a challenging backdrop in late night” and had “nothing to do with the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”
