Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to abruptly conclude a White House press conference on Friday, April 18, 2025, as President Donald Trump was compelled to shorten his speech. The briefing was underway while President Trump was inaugurating TV personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is slated to serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) during Trump's second term.
As the press conference was nearing its end, it was suddenly interrupted, with the screen turning black. "Press OUT," Leavitt yelled at the reporters and media in the Oval Office, demanding them to leave the room. FOX News disclosed that Leavitt had to prematurely terminate the briefing because one of Dr. Oz's children needed to be escorted out of the Oval Office due to a medical emergency.
Leavitt could be heard directing the press to immediately vacate the room. Trump momentarily stepped away from his podium to comprehend what was happening, while Dr. Oz's wife, Lisa, exhibited a look of concern. Dr. Oz was seen hurrying over to assist as chaos broke out. Subsequent video footage showed reporters helping someone off the ground, although it was not clear who the individual was. Another FOX News presenter added: "We don't know what's going on there, the press are being ushered out of the room. Obviously you can see that there was some situation that might have occurred, it might have been medical."
Later, a video showed a girl being assisted as she was led out of the Oval Office. The White House has yet to provide an update on the concerning incident. Journalist Laura Loomer posted a video of the incident and tweeted: "It appears a young girl had some type of medical issue. President Trump walked over to assist." While the full details are not yet clear, many people have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their concerns and well-wishes.
Notably, Dr. Oz, a former TV host of "The Dr. Oz Show", was one of Donald Trump's picks, which was heavily criticized due to his past medical claims. A 2014 BMJ study analyzed Dr. Oz's medical advice from 40 random episodes of his show, finding that nearly half of the recommendations made by the so-called "America's doctor" lacked scientific evidence, as reported by NBC News. In a 2012 episode, Dr. Oz promoted green coffee extract as a "magic weight loss cure", but later that year, a company behind this supposed weight loss miracle had to pay $3.5 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of using a flawed study to make unfounded weight-loss claims to sellers.
Karoline Leavitt was forced to halt the White House press conference on Friday. The press conference was held as President Trump swore in Dr. Mehmet Oz as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) during Trump's second administration. As the press conference was slowly winding down on Friday, it was then dramatically cut short, with the screen going to black.
The shocking incident comes a day after Trump was branded the 'dumbest president ever' following a shocking six-word geography blunder. Following the medical incident, FOX News advised that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to call an end to the briefing and quickly usher out one of Dr. Oz's children.
Leavitt could then be heard ordering the press to drop everything and get "out". Trump was seen momentarily leaving his podium to decipher what was going on, while Dr. Oz's wife, Lisa, put her hand on her chest as she revealed a worried expression on her face. Dr. Oz, meanwhile, was seen rushing over to assist. Further video footage showed reporters helping someone up from the ground, although it was unclear who the person was. Another FOX News host continued: "We don't know what's going on there, the press are being ushered out of the room. Obviously you can see that there was some situation that might have occurred, it might have been medical."
Later, video showed a girl being supported as she was escorted out of the Oval Office. The White House is yet to issue an update on the worrying incident. Journalist Laura Loomer, who shared a video of the incident, tweeted: "It appears a young girl had some type of medical issue. President Trump walked over to assist." While it is yet to be confirmed exactly what happened, many people have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their concern and well-wishes alike.
Dr. Oz, who used to have his own program, "The Dr. Oz Show", was one of Donald Trump's most criticized picks after some of his historical medical claims. In a BMJ study from 2014, researchers evaluated some of the medical claims made by Dr. Oz on 40 randomly-selected episodes of his popular show. Researchers found that nearly half of the recommendations given by the man, who was given the moniker "America's doctor", weren't supported by any scientific evidence, according to NBC News.
During one of his shows in 2012, he claimed that green coffee extract was a "magic weight loss cure". However, later that year, a company selling the alleged weight loss wonder touted by Dr. Oz was ordered to pay $3.5 million to the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement came after it was decided that the company had "used the results of a flawed study to make baseless weight-loss claims" to retailers, according to the FTC.
