Former President Donald Trump appeared to doze off in court during the opening day of his Manhattan “hush money” trial, multiple reporters who were in attendance observed, generating references to “Sleepy Don” on social media—a play on one of Trump’s many nicknames for President Joe Biden.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump with his legal team ahead of the start of jury selection at ... [+]
The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman was the first to report on Trump’s seemingly exhausted manner, writing in the Times’ live blog of the trial around 12 p.m. that Trump’s “head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”
A short time later, Haberman wrote that “Trump has apparently jolted back awake” after “noticing the notes his lawyer passed him several minutes ago.”
Multiple other reporters made similar observations, including Reuters’ Jack Queen, who wrote in an email chain between reporters watching the trial, that Trump “was leaning back in his chair with his arms folded and his eyes very much appeared to be closed for several minutes at a time” just before 3 p.m.
Queen said Trump appeared to be “dozing,” rather than “napping.”
Trump’s adversaries quickly pounced on the observations, coining the nickname “Sleepy Don” on social media, borrowed from Trump’s “Sleepy Joe” nickname for Biden.
This is a developing story and will be updated.