The White House has responded angrily to suggestions that Donald Trump had fallen asleep in an Oval Office meeting.
At an event promoting maternal health and fertility, the president’s eyes appeared to become heavy.
As administration officials standing behind him were speaking, the president closed his eyes for an extended period of time.
But when a Reuters journalist posted a photograph of Trump with his eyes closed, the White House lashed out.
“He was blinking, you absolute moron,” the White House’s X account Rapid Response 47 replied.
The reporter’s post had made no mention of Trump being asleep, simply captioning it: “US President Donald Trump attends a maternal health event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 11, 2026.”
Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu responded: “That is a verrrrrrrrryyyyy long blink.”
“Imagine what happens when there are no cameras.
“Trump is not mentally or physically fit to be President of the United States.”
Jimmy Gomez, another Democratic congressman, remarked: “This guy is asleep at the wheel, and he’s about to drive the entire country off a cliff.”
This is far from the first time Trump has appeared to nod off during a White House event.
In December, the president appeared to fall asleep during a televised cabinet meeting.
He later remarked he wasn’t asleep, just bored.
“I didn’t sleep. I just closed (my eyes) because I wanted to get the hell outta here,” he said.
He also reportedly had trouble keeping his eyes open during an Oval Office event with pharmaceutical executives last month.
In the 2024 presidential campaign he repeatedly mocked his predecessor Joe Biden, who he called “Sleepy Joe”.
“How do you fall asleep when cameras are raging, right?”
“You’ll never see me sleeping in front of the camera.”
Trump has a long habit of staying active on Truth Social well into the night, raising questions about his sleeping habits.
But he made no posts overnight on his social media page last night.