A video showing former U.S. President Barack Obama’s reaction to a woman almost fainting as he delivered a speech has resurfaced on social media.
The footage was filmed during Obama’s time in office, as he spoke about the Affordable Care Act in the Rose Garden of the White House on October 21, 2013. In the video, the President can be seen pausing towards the end of his speech to check on a pregnant woman, Karmel Allison, who was standing just behind him.
Allison had been struggling to stay on her feet with President Obama seen turning to offer her a hand of support, saying “I got you, you’re OK.” He later jokes as Allison is escorted away “This happens when I talk too long.”
Allison has Type 1 diabetes and was invited as a guest of honor after garnering national attention at the time for her blog post “What Obamacare Feels Like to a Diabetic.”
The footage was shared to Reddit by a user posting under the handle u/Rooonaldooo99, where it has already been upvoted 112,000 times since being uploaded yesterday.
The clip’s reappearance comes after a photograph went viral showing U.S. President Donald Trump’s contrasting response to a White House guest fainting in the Oval Office.
The man fainted while David Ricks, the CEO of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, was speaking as part of Trump’s announcement about plans to lower the cost of obesity drugs. Footage from the incident shows Ricks pausing to turn to his right and ask the man, just off screen, “Are you OK? Gordon, you OK?”
The man who was standing among health care executives and Trump administration officials, proceeded to drop to the floor, where he quickly received assistance from those around him.
The picture, taken by AFP photographer Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, shows Trump, standing behind the resolute desk, looking on, while others to his left gather around to help. Caballero-Reynolds’s picture has also gone viral on Reddit, with a post from u/nbcnews featuring the image racking up over 123,000 upvotes.
Press were ushered out of the room in the immediate aftermath of the incident but later returned with Trump explaining that the man had “got a little bit light-headed.” Trump said: “You saw he went down. And he’s fine. They just sent him out. He’s got doctors’ care. But he’s fine.”
The identity of the man who fainted has not yet been confirmed with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that he is a representative of one of the drug companies.
Despite taking ill, Leavitt also confirmed that the man is doing “okay” since the incident. “The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay,” she said.
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