Claim:
A photograph authentically showed U.S. President Donald Trump looking on as a man fainted during a White House news conference in November 2025.
Rating:
In November 2025, a photo circulated online that some social media users said authentically showed U.S. President Donald Trump looking on as a man fainted during a White House news conference in November 2025 (archived, archived).
One Reddit user captioned the photo, “OC: Trump looks on after a man fainted during an announcement in the Oval Office”
OC: Trump looks on after a man fainted during an announcement in the Oval Office
byu/nbcnews inpics
The photo and claim about Trump’s alleged inaction also circulated on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), X (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers wrote in to ask if the photo was authentic. One such message read, “Did Trump ignore man who fainted next to him in the Oval Office?”
The claims centered on a Nov. 6, 2025, news conference in the White House Oval Office where Trump, alongside administration officials and other participants, announced a deal to reduce the cost of some diabetes, weight-loss and migraine medications from the pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
During this news conference, a participant reportedly fainted.
The photos and claims were real. Some posts used a photo by the reputable photo agency Getty Images’ photographer Andrew Harnik. Others used what appeared to be screenshots from LiveNOW from FOX’s livestream of the news conference. Both showed Trump standing, hands at his side, as a number of people attended to the man on the floor.
Given the above, we rate this claim true.
Both an unlisted White House livestream and LiveNOW from FOX’s livestream showed that Trump got up from his chair when the man fainted but remained standing off to the side as aides ushered media representatives out of the Oval Office. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s appointed administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services and a trained physician, assisted the man who fainted.
According to an edited White House video showing the Nov. 6 news conference that omitted the moment the man fainted, Trump later told reporters:
One of the representatives of the companies — one of the companies — got a little bit lightheaded. You saw he went down and he’s fine. They just sent him out. He’s got doctor’s care, but he’s fine. Uh, so we had a little bit of an interruption, sorry for that.
According to the Hill, David Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly who was speaking when the man fainted, later confirmed that the person in question was a guest of Eli Lilly and was “doing great” after receiving treatment from White House medical staff.
Sources
“Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Major Developments in Bringing Most-Favored-Nation Pricing to American Patients.” The White House, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/11/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-major-developments-in-bringing-most-favored-nation-pricing-to-american-patients/.
“President Trump Announces Deal to Reduce Cost of Weight Loss Drugs.” YouTube, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_W2h141nu8&t=2026s.
“President Trump Makes an Announcement, Nov. 6, 2025.” YouTube, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/GFGmukrxZ7Y?t=3216s.
Samuels, Brett. “White House Guest Faints during Trump Event in Oval Office.” The Hill, 6 Nov. 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/5593346-oval-office-guest-collapses-trump-obesity-drug-event/.
The White House. “President Trump Makes an Announcement, Nov. 6, 2025.” YouTube, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh3VhNzivS8&t=1978s.
“U.S. President Donald Trump Stands by as Attendees Help a Guest After…” Getty Images, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-stands-by-as-attendees-help-a-guest-news-photo/2244860532.
