The Daily Populous Wednesday May 14th, 2025 night edition
Authored by thedailybeast.com and submitted by Murky-Site7468

The excitement of Donald Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia apparently didn’t last long for the 78-year-old president: In fact, the special welcome ceremony appeared to be a snoozer.

Trump landed in Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a four-day diplomatic trip to the Middle East, where he claims he will secure billions in investments and trade agreements with Gulf nations. (He may also pick up a free plane.)

But the long red-eye flight from the U.S. appeared to have taken its toll; Trump was frequently seen with his eyes closed and once appeared to jolt himself awake during a special ceremony held in his honor at the Saudi royal court by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, who previously ordered the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi's de facto ruler, the crown prince Mohamed bin Salman, was on the the tarmac to greet Trump. But once the welcome ceremony began, a seated Trump appeared keen to rest his weary eyes. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS

The prince was more forgiving of Trump’s inattention, but it was noted by those watching on social media.

“Trump is having a hard time keeping his eyes open in Saudi Arabia,” reporter Aaron Rupar wrote while sharing a clip of Trump appearing to nod off on X.

Another X user posted: “Sleepy Don can barely keep his eyes open while representing the United States in Saudi Arabia. If this were President Biden, there would be nonstop coverage of his cognitive condition and physical fitness. Where is the media outrage?”

White House communications director Steven Cheung denied that Trump wasn’t paying attention.

“It’s clear that President Trump was fully engaged and listening intently as he finalized historic deals on his return to Saudi Arabia,” he said. “The Daily Beast should perk up and stop slacking instead of taking their cues of liberal liars who have shown a history of deceiving the American people.”

A weary Trump was given a gold-accented throne-like chair to sit in during the welcome ceremony. At moments, he seemed to be enjoying the change to take the weight off his eyelids. Brian Snyder/REUTERS

The napping habits of his predecessor, of course, prompted Trump to call President Joe Biden, “Sleepy Joe.”

But Trump, who will overtake Biden as the oldest sitting president in U.S. history during the final year of his second term, has often faced accusations of dozing off in public.

One of the most high-profile incidents came during his 2024 hush money trial, where reporters inside the New York courtroom said that he appeared to fall asleep during the historic proceedings.

Trump claimed he was fully conscious throughout the trial in post on Truth Social during the proceedings.

“I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” Trump wrote.

Whether Trump was simply trying to “take it all in” with his eyes closed in Saudi Arabia remains unclear.

interwebz_2021 on May 13rd, 2025 at 17:46 UTC »

Can't wait to see this all over the news for the next 2 weeks, and for the press to demand he resign, just like with Biden. Surely this will come to pass, right? Right?

meTspysball on May 13rd, 2025 at 17:30 UTC »

Just pardon yourself and retire. You can golf and take naps all day, everyday. Just golf and naps. As a lib, I would feel so owned.

PopPalsUnited on May 13rd, 2025 at 17:23 UTC »

Oh look.

Normalization of him "resting his eyes" at important functions.