There was an unmistakable pregnant pause.
A West Virginia businessman running for president has been roasted online for taking several seconds to help his expectant wife when she fainted as he announced a bid for the White House.
Republican Rollan Roberts II was in the middle of announcing he was running for president on Jan. 20 at the West Virginia State Capitol when his five-month pregnant wife, Rebecca Lea Roberts, wobbled and collapsed.
Footage showed an aide standing nearby trying to stop her from falling, but she dropped to the floor along with an American flag.
Meanwhile, the candidate glanced over at his sprawled wife – and did nothing as several people walk over to her.
After what seemed like an interminable five seconds, Roberts finally heads to her side.
Not surprisingly, he has been mocked mercilessly on social media for his feeble response to his wife in her moment of distress.
“You probably missed this but another Republican announced he was running for President while his pregnant wife literally passed out in the background,” Santiago Mayer, executor director of Voters Tomorrow, said in a tweet, where he shared the clip.
“He doesn’t love her. Why did it take him so damn long to react?!” a Twitter user wrote.
“I love that no fewer than four people went to her aid before he bothered to,” another said.
“A. Who the hell is Rollan Roberts? B. How was he THE LAST person to move after his pregnant wife passed out???” a third wrote.
Yet another added: “Anyone else get the vibe he only moved once he considered how bad it would look to keep standing there?”
Roberts was further roasted after his campaign edited out his wife’s collapse from the official video.
“He has a YouTube video of the speech on his page but edited out the poor woman passing out. But at least someone got her a chair so she could complete her duty,” a Twitter user said.
After first responders attended to the woman, Roberts thanked a higher power for her recovery.
“Can we give a hand to the medical team for their assistance?” he said, The West Virginia Daily News reported.
“She is five months pregnant. Her blood pressure is fine, so we thank the Lord for this,” added Roberts, the son of state Sen. Rollan A. Roberts.
Before the incident, Roberts cited the reasons why he thinks he deserves to be commander-in-chief.
“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, 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,” he said, according to the paper.
“This has not been something I aspired to. It is not something I thought I would ever do because of the nastiness of American politics, and for the sake of my dear wife who is pregnant with our first son,” he said.
The Post has reached out to Roberts’ campaign for comment.
