In a jaw-dropping moment at a President Trump press conference on Friday, April 18 in the White House’s Oval Office, the president’s introduction of Dr. Mehmet Oz as the new Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services turned to chaos when a child became suddenly sick, fainting, and the media was evacuated out of the room as Dr. Oz rushed to deal with the situation.
For reference, the event in which the apparent medical emergency occurred was the swearing in of Dr. Ox for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services role by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Oz joined by his wife Lisa, son Oliver, and daughters Daphne, Arabella and Zoe, along with his grandchildren.
Footage from the incident show that it was as President Trump spoke as part of that event that, suddenly, commotion broke out and various journalists and personalities in attendance could be seen reacting to chaos suddenly reigning in what should a relatively simple swearing-in event in the Oval Office.
In the footage of the incident which has emerged, the chaos began when one of Dr. Oz’s daughters suddenly tells him, referring to his 11-year-old granddaughter Philomena, “Philo fainted, Philo fainted. Dad, go!” Upon hearing that, Dr. Oz rushed over to check on her. Once he determined that she was ok, he returned to his position for the swearing-in.
But the incident was enough to end the press coverage of the swearing-in event, with White House aides quickly ushering all of the White House reporters and the other bystanders from the room. In the footage, they can be heard saying, “Everybody out!” and telling members of the press to “get out right now.” Another aide added, in comments directed as the press, “No photos.”
Then, shortly before the cameras were shut off, the footage shows Daphne and Oliver Oz walking Philomena, who appeared to be ill, though with what is unclear, out of the room. It was at that point that the cameras shut off and the footage of the chaotic medical emergency ended. Watch it here:
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Commenting on the incident after it occurred, Fox 4 News reported that Philo recovered from whatever her temporary illness was, reporting, “A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the girl was a family member of Oz’s and that she has recovered.” It also added context as to what Dr. Oz will be doing now that he has been confirmed in the role, reporting:
The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.
President Trump, commenting on that during the swearing in ceremony, noted that Dr. Oz will not cut legitimate Medicaid benefits, saying, “As CMS Administrator, Dr. Oz will work tirelessly to strengthen and protect Medicare for our nation’s seniors & Medicaid for the needy…there will be NO CUTS.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video