President Donald Trump’s brief moment with his eyes closed during an ceremony has sparked drawn attention on . As Trump appeared to tilt his head while an official spoke, critics accused him of falling asleep.
What happened in the Oval Office
, who is 80, appeared drowsy during an executive order ceremony at the Oval Office on Monday, While Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who is 58, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was speaking, Trump appeared to close his eyes and tilt his head. “Today is a historic day for public health in this country,” Bhattacharya said.
Trump signed an executive order to change the country’s childhood recommendations. The move comes amid his administration’s claims that vaccines are linked to autism. The order directs federal health officials to take a different approach to how vaccines are recommended and given to children.
The order is part of a wider effort to change federal health policy under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has been vocally anti-vaccine for decades.
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Democrats call it a ‘national security crisis’
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari reacted strongly on X, writing, “He’s falling asleep on the job nearly every day. This is a national security crisis! It doesn’t get more dystopian than this and Republicans in Congress continue to do nothing but enable this deranged old man’s dangerous fantasies.”
Laura Loomer and others push back online
Conservative commentator Laura Loomer defended Trump, posting on X, “He is looking down. He’s not sleeping. God, you people are such retards. Trump is literally nodding his head. Imagine saying someone is sleeping everytime they close their eyes for 2 seconds. Are you really this retarded? @atrupar.”
However, other users on X have also reacted:
One user wrote, “Oh come on Laura. He’s slumped over. He is sleeping.”
Another joked, “He is a great comedian, he does it on purpose to annoy those lunatic.”
Someone else wrote, “Am I the only one who thinks that Trump sleeping during these events is actually a flex? Ron Burgundy energy.”
Another added, “Poor old boy. No wonder he’s tired all those peace deals he’s done with Iran would make even a younger person sleepy.”
This isn’t the first time
Trump has appeared to fall asleep on camera in the past. After he appeared to shut his eyes during a cabinet meeting in December 2025, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told that the president was not sleeping when he closes his eyes. “He’s not asleep,” Wiles said. “He’s got his eyes closed and his head leaned back … and, you know, he’s fine.”
In July, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told that Trump was “reflecting on the loss of his dear friend Lindsey Graham, for whom he had just delivered a beautiful eulogy,” after the president appeared to fall asleep during Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral. “Anyone suggesting otherwise is a depraved moron,” Ingle said.
