Pregnant wife faints and gets pinned by flag during Republican's presidential run announcement

After viewing footage of the incident, some have commented that Roberts II took too long to check on his wife

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published January 26, 2023 6:39PM (EST)

West Virginia statehouse (Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
West Virginia statehouse (Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Mid-way through a press conference held at the West Virginia State Capitol last Friday, during which Republican Dr. Rollan Roberts II announced his intent to run as a presidential candidate in 2024, his pregnant wife Rebecca fainted behind him.

A video clip of the incident has since circulated on social media, along with comments that the presidential hopeful seemed to have taken longer than one would expect to go check on his wife after she hit the ground just a few feet away from him.

In the clip, the five-months pregnant woman can be seen wobbling on her feet before beginning to fall, at which point a man standing nearby attempts to help, seemingly causing a large American flag in a stand to then fall upon the woman as she lay on the ground.

According to The West Virginia Daily News, medical personnel attended to the woman, after which Roberts II said "Can we give a hand to the medical team for their assistance?"

"I am running for president, not to take us backwards to the way things used to be, and not to reset humanity to some ideology," Roberts II said prior to his wife fainting. "But through principled and disciplined leadership – sound wisdom grounded in truth, and with respect for all people – to lead America in solving the great issues of our day in a way that lays the foundation for our leadership and excellence in the 22nd century."

Roberts II, who is the son of W.Va. State Senator Rollan A. Roberts, R-Raleigh, later said that his wife is fine, having suffered no serious injuries in her fall.

"I prefer a simple, quiet, God-fearing life with my family," Roberts furthered in his speech. "But God had a different plan for me. I did not come from money. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to go to a regular college – not a fancy one – and I had to pay my own way through school and work."


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One tweet from a person after the clip of Roberts II's wife fainting began to circulate presented two questions:

A. Who the hell is Rollan Roberts?
B. How was he THE LAST person to move after his pregnant wife passed out???

"You clearly don't answer to the health needs of your wife," another person chimed in on Twitter. "I'd drop out now, sweetie."


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere.

MORE FROM Kelly McClure


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