Why Trump Paused White House Hanukkah Event To Summon A Doctor

US President Donald Trump paused his speech during a White House Hanukkah event and called for a doctor on Tuesday night.

“Are we ok over there?” Trump asked, pointing at the crowd. “Is there a doctor? Get a doctor over there, please. Just in case. Go ahead. Hop over there. Good. Thank you very much. Everything good? OK. Great person,” he added.

???? JUST IN: President Trump stops his remarks to call a doctor for an apparent medical episode in the crowd during the Hannukah reception

Hope they're OK ????????

"Are we OK? [...] Yeah, is there a doctor? Get a doctor over there, please. Just in case. Go ahead. Hop over there. Good.… pic.twitter.com/ocPpd5T5NB

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 17, 2025

The reception was to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights, amid heightened security concerns. Leading Jewish groups in the US recently asked organisations to increase security at public events following a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, in which 14 people were killed.

Offering condolences to the families of those who died at the famed Bondi Beach, Trump said, “Let me take a moment to send the love and prayers to our entire nation, to the people of Australia, and especially to all those affected by the horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack… What a terrible, terrible thing."

Trump then took time to speak about his health, referring to the comments of former White House physician Ronny Jackson, who was in attendance. “Ronny Jackson, he was my White House doctor,” Trump said. “Ronny was asked, who's the healthiest of all? Was it Barack Hussein Obama? Was it Sleepy Joe Biden? Or was it Donald Trump? And he said Trump was by far the healthiest.”

“He was the doctor for all three of us, and he said Trump was by far the healthiest, I love him. If he didn't say that I would've never talked to him again. Ronny Jackson, what a great legend.”

Jackson was never a physician to Biden, having run for Congress in 2020 and taken his seat in the House on January 3, 2021, prior to Biden's inauguration. His full medical license in Virginia expired in 2020, limiting him to practicing only in emergency circumstances.

In 2018, Jackson said, “I told the president if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200,” adding that his overall health was “excellent.”