A closer look at
Trump’s apparent struggles to fight off sleep in the Oval Office
A
Washington Post analysis of multiple video feeds found that the president spent
nearly 20 minutes apparently battling to keep his eyes open at a recent event.
November 8, 2025 at
12:25 p.m. ESTToday at 12:25 p.m. EST
President
Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday during an announcement event with
pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. (Matt McClain/The
Washington Post)
By Dan Diamond
and
President Donald Trump hosted one of the more
attention-grabbing press events of his term in the Oval Office this week,
announcing price cuts for weight-loss drugs,
only to be interrupted when one of the attendees collapsed in a faint.
Before that dramatic turn of events, however, Trump
appeared to struggle to stay awake as his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy
Jr., and two other deputies took turns explaining the announcement. Clips of
the scene have circulated widely on social media and drawn heavy criticism from
Democrats.
A Washington Post analysis of multiple video feeds
found that Trump spent nearly 20 minutes apparently battling to keep his eyes
open at the Thursday event. It was a seemingly stark illustration of the strain
of the presidency on a 79-year-old who typically keeps a vigorous travel
schedule that even his aides say they struggle to keep up with — and who has
reveled in calling his predecessor “Sleepy Joe” Biden.
Sitting behind the Resolute Desk on Thursday, the president
displayed a constellation of movements familiar to anyone who has attempted to
stay awake during a work meeting. He closed his eyes. He put his hand to his
temple. He slouched in his chair.
President Donald Trump
appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open during a news conference on Nov. 6.
(Video: The Washington Post)
The gathering came to an abrupt halt with the sudden
collapse of an attendee, an Eli Lilly patient who was
standing behind the president. It resumed about an hour later, with Trump
noticeably perkier — but still caught on camera at moments with his eyes
closed.
The White House denied that Trump was dozing during the
Oval Office event and suggested the question was inappropriate.
“The President was not sleeping; in fact, he spoke
throughout and took many questions from the press during this announcement
which represents a historic reduction in prices for Americans on two drugs that
help Americans struggling with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other
conditions,” spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
On Nov. 6, President
Donald Trump seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open during a roughly
20-minute stretch at an Oval Office event on drug-price cuts. (Video: JM
Rieger/The Washington Post)
Democrats, and particularly veterans of Biden’s
administration, said they were frustrated to see the president seemingly fight
to stay awake after he dubbed his predecessor “Sleepy Joe” and routinely mocked
his energy levels. Biden, the oldest U.S. president in history who left office
at age 82, faced regular scrutiny for his stamina, such as when he appeared to doze
off at a roundtable in Angola last December. Questions about Biden’s fitness
for the presidency also helped end his reelection bid in 2024.
“The national media would have had multiple strokes if Joe
Biden was sleeping/passed out in his chair in the Oval Office,” Neera Tanden,
who served as Biden’s top domestic policy aide, posted on social media.
Trump at the Oval Office event
Thursday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
White House officials have bristled at any comparisons to
Biden, pointing to Trump’s far more frequent exchanges with reporters and his
regular schedule of public events. Trump typically takes questions multiple
times a week, while Biden rarely did. They also have regularly
praised the 79-year-old’s energy, with aides saying that they struggle to keep
up with Trump’s round-the-clock phone calls and demands.
“I was getting calls at 11:30, 12:00 at night. ‘Oh, are you
asleep?’” Kennedy said at an Oval Office event in September, reminiscing about
Trump’s late-night push to lower drug prices. “At one point, Dr. [Mehmet] Oz
told me, I can’t take the president’s calls anymore. … I say I don’t get
anxiety; this gave me anxiety.”
The president recently completed a period of whirlwind
travel, returning from an extended trip to Asia on Oct. 30 before flying to his
Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida the next day and back to Washington on Sunday.
Trump also flew to Miami on Wednesday to speak at a business-focused conference
before returning to Washington. And he flew back to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend
on Friday.
President Donald Trump
appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open during a news conference on Nov. 6.
(Video: The Washington Post)
All the while, Trump has continued to mock “Sleepy Joe.” He
used the nickname Wednesday in Miami as he compared their efforts to secure
foreign investments in the U.S. economy; again on Thursday evening, when he
hosted Central Asian leaders for dinner at the White House; and minutes after
he was caught on camera struggling to keep his own eyes open in the Oval
Office.
“He wasn’t in charge. The people around the desk were in
charge,” Trump told reporters at the drug-price event, jibing at “Sleepy Joe
Biden” yet again.
Meanwhile, Democrats circulated photos and videos of
Trump’s shut eyes — and their own attempt to give him a nickname.
