Donald Trump won the last presidential election, in part, by successfully taunting “Sleepy Joe” Biden for his decrepitude. So it’s pretty awkward that the president appears to be sleeping in meetings with increasing regularity.
Trump was caught closing his eyes for extended periods on Thursday afternoon during an Oval Office meeting on what he called “Beautiful, Clean Coal.” He rested his eyes for at least 37 seconds while Interior secretary Doug Burgum was speaking:
Trump is struggling to stay conscious in the Oval Office yet again pic.twitter.com/p8oFVJE0gn — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 4, 2026
And slumped back in his chair as EPA administrator Lee Zeldin addressed reporters:
Trump appears to be completely passed out asleep during his 3pm Oval Office announcement pic.twitter.com/gKyNjvgZW3 — Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) June 4, 2026
The White House’s rapid-response team has tried to address this issue by hurling childish insults at anyone who dares suggest that the president is nodding off when he closes his eyes for extended periods of time. During a similar incident on May 11, @RapidResponse47 snapped, “He was blinking, you absolute moron.” Yesterday, the account called the folks at Headquarters a bunch of “dumbass mouth-breathers”:
His eyes are literally open in the clip you posted, you dumbass mouth-breathers https://t.co/7VCNwVgQow pic.twitter.com/3zoCVEzsrY — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 4, 2026
When the Daily Beast asked the White House about the incident, it got a similarly churlish response:
“President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle.
“While the deranged and failing Daily Beast has their lightweight, glue-sniffing ‘reporters’ push baseless conspiracy theories — President Trump is working around the clock to make our country greater than ever before.”
Trump has insisted he never sleeps in meetings, claiming he just likes to “listen intensely” and rest his “beautiful blue eyes.” He recently told The Wall Street Journal, “I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me.”
If you watch the full video of the meeting, it’s clear that Trump is never out cold. Starting at the 19-minute mark, he closes his eyes for extended periods whenever someone else is speaking. At the 30-minute mark, he slumps back in his chair and takes some extended blinks for about a minute.
I’m open to the idea that Trump is not really sleeping in these meetings. But whatever he’s doing still looks incredibly weird!
The accusations that Trump is sleeping in public keep resurfacing, despite the administration’s attempts to insult random X accounts into submission. So maybe Trump should just … keep his eyes open more often? I’m pretty sure my boss wouldn’t be okay with me putting my head down on the table during meetings, even if I assured him that’s how I “listen intensely.” There is a general societal expectation that you look awake during the workday — especially when you’re the president of the United States! Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Mastiiffmom on June 5th, 2026 at 22:53 UTC »
Can you even imagine the response if a Democrat did this even once?? Not to mention several times a week. This is insanity.
accidentsneverhappen on June 5th, 2026 at 22:49 UTC »
I don't know what's worse: watching this happen every week, or the fact that there is always a room of adult people around him who all have to pretend that they don't notice it
reddittorbrigade on June 5th, 2026 at 22:48 UTC »
I can't remember seeing Biden like that.