Alex Bruesewitz, one of Donald Trump‘s key strategists, sparked concern after he collapsed on stage mid-speech on Sunday night.
The audience gasped and cried out as he toppled over, bringing a lectern down with him, as several people rushed to his aid. Moments before, Bruesewitz began to slur as he spoke and admitted he was “forgetting” his words. His eyes glazed over as he fell silent for around five seconds and he appeared to be unsteady on his feet.
The 27-year-old, who was drafted into Trump’s 2024 campaign team in a bid to make Trump “cool” with younger voters according to news reports, had been addressing the New York Young Republican Club’s gala in Manhattan. The event continued without him as Bruesewitz reportedly recovered backstage.
Jack Posobiec, the editor of conservative news website Human Events, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to say he had spoken to Bruesewitz after he came around backstage, adding he was “getting checked out by medical” and had suffered “a brief fainting spell.” As of 5 a.m. New York time on Monday, Bruesewitz had not posted on his own X account to address the incident.
Newsweek has reached out by email to Bruesewitz seeking further information and comment about his collapse.
Footage of the tuxedo-clad Bruesewitz passing out swiftly spread online and racked up more than a million views.
“Oh no, what I do? I’m forgetting my words,” he says, appearing to slur the sentence. He mumbled something about “impeachment” then froze and wobbled before lurching over.
A 30-second clip posted online by the anti-Trump conservative campaign group Republicans Against Trump was viewed more than 325,000 times on X overnight. The account credited the footage to an X user with the handle FL-Native, whose profile says “we need smaller Gov’t [government],” and whose own sharing of the clip garnered more than 745,000 views.
Master of ceremonies Raheem Kassam, who is a former aide of British conservative politician Nigel Farage, took to the stage not long after Bruesewitz had collapsed.
“I just want to let you all know I just went backstage,” he told the crowd. “I talked to our friend Alex Bruesewitz and you know what he said to me? He goes: ‘Did I at least look cool?’ I said, ‘Alex, you used gravity like I’ve seen nobody use gravity before in their lives!’ But he’s recuperating back there so give him a big cheer so he’ll hear you. Alex, we love you!”
Trump also reportedly called-in by phone to assure the crowd his adviser would be “fine because he’s a tough son of a gun,” according to the New York Post.
Other speakers at the high-profile event included longtime Trump supporters and advisers Steve Bannon and Dan Scavino.
Who is Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz?
Bruesewitz, the CEO of political and corporate consultancy firm X Strategies, was hired by Trump’s campaign over the summer to help with youth outreach and communications.
He was tasked with making Trump appear cool to younger voters in a bid to target that demographic. He has been pictured with Trump several times and often reposts jovial X memes shared by the president-elect online as he works to engage younger social media users and build conservative support.
A biography of Bruesewitz on his X Strategies website says: “Throughout his career, Bruesewitz has been a fierce advocate for the America First movement and has worked tirelessly to promote policies that put the interests of American citizens first.
“Bruesewitz has been the driving force behind the efforts to defeat Republicans who fight against Trump and the MAGA [Make America Great Again] movement and works to replace them with Republicans who fight for the values we hold dear.
“Bruesewitz also travels the country and globe giving speeches on behalf of the MAGA movement and is the author of Winning the Social Media War: How Conservatives Can Fight Back, Reclaim the Narrative, and Turn the Tides Against the Left.”
The website also features quoted praise for Bruesewitz from Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr.
The president-elect reportedly said: “Alex Bruesewitz is a young star. I don’t know where he’s going, but he’s going places.” Trump Jr. is said to have noted: “Alex Bruesewitz is one of my father’s strongest and most loyal supporters.”
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