Contentious CNN interview about baby formula derailed as camera collapses on set

Mr Deese attempted to catch the camera before it tumbled to the ground

A contentious CNN interview ended prematurely when a camera tripod toppled over mid-segment.

During a taping of The Lead with Jake Tapper, Mr Tapper was speaking with Brian Deese, the White House director of the National Economic Council.

The duo were discussing the ongoing baby formula shortage and the recent shutdown of a plant in Michigan earlier this year after formula produced there allegedly contributed to the deaths of two infants.

Mr Tapper pressed Mr Deese on why Joe Biden was only learning of the shortage threat posed by the plant's closing in April, two months after it had been shuttered.

“So, the whistleblower complained in the fall, the FDA waited until December to act, waited until February to shut the plant down, President Biden didn’t find out about it until April. You don’t think any of that should have been done more quickly or sooner? You just think everything went exactly as it’s supposed to?” Mr Tapper asked.

He went on to say that he doesn't "need the FDA to investigate itself to come to the judgment that they did not act quickly enough."

"And on behalf of all the frustrated moms and dads and guardians out there, I hope you don’t either,” he said.

Mr Deese shot back, saying the timeline was needed and was preparing to delve further into Mr Tapper's question when the shot fell apart.

“I think it is appropriate that they look at that timeline and understand what happened in that context,” Mr Deese said. “But I also think that we need to take very seriously that…”

Just as Mr Deese was moving onto his next point, a leg on one of the cameras slipped, shuffling the video's framing awkwardly to the side before toppling over completely.

Mr Deese tried to stop the camera from falling, but the video ultimately cut to black.

"Our camera fell down. Ok," Mr Tapper said with a laugh. "Brian Deese, thank you much."

While the end of the interview was funny, the subject matter is not; the baby formula shortage in the US has been ongoing for weeks, prompting Mr Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to help mitigate its impact on families.

Even with the Defense Production Act, the shortage has continued to worsen, and the Biden administration has faced criticism for failing to act even after company executives warned that a shortage was coming in the wake of the Michigan plant's closure.

The administration's latest attempt to mitigate the effects of the shortage has been to fly in formula from the United Kingdom.