The White House defended President Donald Trump after he was seen sleeping during a maternal health event in the Oval Office. The explanation came as photos and videos of the president with his eyes closed for extended periods became viral across social media platforms, triggering yet another round of scrutiny over his alertness during official proceedings.
White House explains why Donald Trump appeared to be sleeping
When a Reuters photograph showed Donald Trump with his eyes shut behind the Resolute Desk, Trump’s administration’s rapid response team account replied, “He was blinking, you absolute moron.” Taken in isolation, a still photograph can certainly catch someone mid-blink. The trouble with the White House explanation began when video footage surfaced showing Trump‘s eyes remaining closed for a full 17 continuous seconds.
Trump was surrounded by Cabinet members, Alabama Senator Katie Britt, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as others addressed the room following his opening remarks for the Moms.gov initiative. It was during these subsequent speeches that he appeared to close his eyes fully multiple times, his head occasionally tilting forward.
Democratic Representative Ted Lieu seized on the administration’s blinking defense by sharing the video directly. “Dear @RapidResponse47: That is a verrrrrrrrryyyyy long blink,” Lieu wrote. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to it by stating, “Ted Lewd is a loser of the highest order, and he needs to get serious professional help for his debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” (via the Daily Beast). He did not reference the sleeping video.
Monday’s episode continues a documented pattern. Trump appeared to battle fatigue during an Oval Office event on the Presidential Fitness Test just one week earlier. Similar incidents happened in April, on multiple occasions in March, and in February and January. What distinguished Monday’s incident was the timing. This was not a late-night briefing or grueling negotiation. It was the administration’s first public event of the day, starting at 11 a.m.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
