The Late Show‘s Stephen Colbert had a lot of things he wanted to say about that viral photo of President Donald Trump standing by as a White House guest collapsed behind him on Thursday (November 6).
Pharmaceutical executives and government officials joined Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday for a press conference about reducing the cost of weight-loss drugs. During the event, Gordon Findlay, a Novo Nordisk executive, fainted.
On Thursday’s Late Show, Colbert aired a clip of the scary moment, in which Findlay collapsed at the start of Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks’ speech. While several people rushed to help Findlay, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, the President rose from his desk and stood by nonchalantly.
“As I said, the fella’s okay, but I’m sure that was scary,” Colbert said. “But thankfully, the room was full of exactly who you want in a medical emergency: pharmaceutical executives. ‘Quick! Quick! Someone maximize shareholder value!’”
The late-night host reiterated that Findlay was “okay” and praised the quick action of everybody who rushed to help him.
“Well, almost everybody,” he added. “Because this photo’s been going around. Take a look at this photo, this viral photo from after the fainting. Look at that.”
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Colbert showed a photo that has been making the rounds on social media, featuring Trump standing at his desk looking vacantly ahead as several people attend to Findlay in the background.
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“They’ve got his legs up and everything!” Colbert stated. “That picture is worth a thousand words… none of which I can say on CBS.”
After the press was ushered out of the Oval Office, staff attended to Findlay. The press conference resumed 30 minutes later, with Trump letting everyone know the man was fine.
“One of the representatives of the companies, of one of these companies, got a little bit lightheaded,” the President said. “We saw he went down, and he’s fine. They just sent him out, and he’s got doctors here. But he’s fine.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later shared a statement confirming Findlay was okay. “The White House medical unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay,” Leavitt stated.
You can watch Colbert’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
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