Overview
- At a maternal-health event in the Oval Office on Monday, video showed President Trump with his eyes closed and slumped in his chair, fueling online claims he nodded off and driving the “Sleepy Don” trend.
- The White House rejected the claim he slept, with its Rapid Response account replying to a Reuters photo, “He was blinking, you absolute moron,” a message that drew broad pushback from critics.
- Following Monday night’s viral clip, Trump’s Truth Social account unleashed more than 50 posts around midnight Tuesday, including AI memes, false 2020 election claims, and attacks calling Barack Obama a “traitor,” even as he was due to fly to China later that day.
- The episode fits a months-long pattern documented by news outlets and trackers, which found 565 Truth Social posts in April with about a third overnight, and multiple earlier public moments where Trump appeared drowsy during events.
- The White House says Trump is fit and has scheduled a medical and dental exam at Walter Reed for May 26, a step that follows rising public concern and recent polling that questions his mental and physical readiness.