The 79-year-old president had a few moments Tuesday where it really looked like he was nodding off during the three-hour session.
President Trump was caught on camera fighting heavy eyelids—and at one point closing them completely—while his cabinet secretaries took turns heaping praise on him during yesterday’s lengthy meeting. It came just hours after he’d been up late blasting out more than 160 posts on Truth Social the night before (he was back online again at 5:48 a.m.).
In one clip that’s making the rounds, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is talking and Trump’s eyes stay shut for several seconds before he suddenly leans forward like he just snapped back into the conversation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back hard when we asked about it.
“President Trump was listening attentively and running the entire three-hour marathon Cabinet meeting,” the 28-year-old spokeswoman told PEOPLE. She quickly pivoted to a familiar line about Somali immigrants in Minnesota before adding, “Just go watch his incredible closing answer at the press conference—he absolutely torched the America-Last Democrats. That moment alone shows how sharp he was.”
This isn’t the first time people have noticed Trump looking drowsy in public. Last year during his New York trial he insisted he wasn’t sleeping—just “closing my beautiful blue eyes” to listen more intently.
At 79, he’s now the oldest person ever elected president, and there’s been plenty of chatter (especially from outlets he doesn’t like) about whether the job is wearing on him. The New York Times recently ran a piece saying his public schedule feels lighter these days and that sometimes “his battery shows signs of wear.” Trump fired back online, reminding everyone he just aced a cognitive test and got a perfect physical.
Of course he couldn’t resist flipping it on Joe Biden while he was at it, bringing back the old “Sleepy Joe” nickname and insisting, “I’m not a sleeper.”
He even told reporters in the Oval Office last month—while sitting next to the Saudi Crown Prince—that the two of them talk at all hours because “when you love your country, you’re thinking about it 24/7… I don’t want to sleep.”