Donald Trump, 79, appeared to try to sneak in a nap during an Oval Office event.
The president was seen jerking awake after cameras caught him seemingly nodding off while hosting an event Monday highlighting his administration’s efforts to advance maternal health and support motherhood.
But as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ranted about what he described as a “fertility crisis,” Trump appeared more focused on advancing his own sleep schedule.
As he was surrounded by press and loyalists, including Kennedy, Sen. Katie Britt, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and more, the president slipped into a stupor.
In response, a spokesperson for the White House pointed the Daily Beast to a statement they made on X:“He was blinking, you absolute moron.”
After several minutes of Trump’s apparent bout of daytime drowsiness, he jolted awake and embarked on one of his signature unhinged rants. He covered a range of topics, including referring to his unidentified friend as a “very highly neurotic, very fat--sort of a fat slob” while discussing costs for medications.
The president also warned that his ceasefire agreement with Iran was on “life support.”
“It’s unbelievably weak,” Trump said of the shaky agreement that went into effect April 8.
He then pivoted to autism, warning “Every person is gonna have autism.”
“That’s what’s happening. What is this thing that’s happening?” he went on. “It’s spiked so much.....anything having to do with medical, I always bring in autism.”
Trump has repeatedly been caught on camera dozing off at public events. Just last week, the president appeared to slip into a heavy-eyed daze during a Tuesday Oval Office proclamation signing to restore the Presidential Fitness Test in schools.
Still, Trump’s nod off on Monday sparked a fresh wave of health concerns over the president.
“Trump fell asleep with his face drooping in the Oval Office during a meeting today,” leftwing political commentator Harry Sisson wrote on X. “This is a real video that should concern every American. He’s not fit to serve.”
“Donald Trump’s sleeping on the job again,” X user Larry Boorstein shared with his 15,000 followers. “Trump needs to be sent to a nursing home where he can get some serious shuteye. Congress needs to appoint a body to declare Trump unable to discharge the duties of the Presidency and remove him from office.”
It’s no surprise that Trump is desperately in need of some rest. Earlier this month, an analysis by the Daily Beast found that the president’s nocturnal social media posting sprees are so prolific that there were only five days in April when he could have had a full night’s sleep.
In total, Trump posted 189 times between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time in April, a Daily Beast review has found.
