Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton collapsed while giving his State of the State speech Monday, hitting his head on a podium.
Dayton, a 69-year-old Democrat who will turn 70 this Thursday, appeared to be conscious as he was helped into a back room several minutes after the event, the Associated Press reported.
Dayton fainted about 40 minutes into his address, but quickly recovered, according to Dayton’s chief of staff Jaime Tincher.
Tincher said he planned to release a detailed budget proposal Tuesday morning despite the incident.
Dayton stumbled as he entered the House chamber, but joked it away, saying he should have attended the walkthrough.
But 40 minutes into his speech, he trailed off in the middle of a sentence before stopping to take a sip of water from a bottle he stored below the podium.
Once he resumed his speech, he spoke only a few slurred words before his shoulders appeared to shake, he collapsed, and hit his head on the podium.
“Get him to the ground. Get him to the ground please,” a frantic voice called out while those surrounding him rushed to his assistance.
Republican leaders in the legislature did not comment on Dayton’s speech, but prayed instead for his health and safety.
“That’s our whole focus right now, just praying for our governor,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said.
In a press conference Tuesday, Dayton responded to a question from a reporter who asked whether the collapse was caused by an underlying health problem, according to CNN.
“I will … in the interest of full disclosure say that I learned last week — I had a biopsy — that I do have prostate cancer,” he said.
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