Donald Trump Accused of Falling Asleep Again: What the Video Shows - Newsweek

President Donald Trump, who has spent years mocking former President Joe Biden as "Sleepy Joe," has been accused by critics of falling asleep during a White House event on Monday.

The claims attracted attention because Trump frequently questioned Biden's energy, fitness and alertness while in office. Now Trump's critics, including Biden's son Hunter and Democratic-aligned social media accounts, are using similar imagery and arguments against him.

Social media users shared clips and screenshots showing Trump, 80, with his eyes closed during the event, which was held to announce plans by Mesabi Metallics to build a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa.

During the event, Trump referenced "Sleepy Joe Biden," a nickname he has long used for the former president. Shortly afterward, critics circulated clips and images from the event, including a post from Hunter Biden on X that read: "Sleepy who?"

However, the full video shows Trump repeatedly reopening his eyes, responding to questions and participating in the discussion, with the moments where he appeared to have his eyes closed lasting only a few seconds at a time.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

While some now-viral posts on social media focus on the moments the president appeared to fall asleep, full footage of the event shared by the White House provided more context.

The full White House livestream shows Trump closing his eyes briefly on several occasions during remarks from other speakers. But the footage also shows him reopening his eyes seconds later, engaging with the proceedings and speaking later in the event.

While Trump has spent recent years mocking Biden and calling him “sleepy Joe,” he has also faced his own snoozing accusations, with clips and pictures suggesting the president is asleep dating back to 2025.

This has led some left-wing voices, like Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office, to dub the president “Dozy Don.”

Brian Krassenstein, commentator and frequent critic of Trump, shared Monday's footage and said on X: “I have no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump fell asleep multiple times today. He’s just tired, just like we’re all tired of him.”

Newsom's press office also weighed in on the latest event, sharing a clip of the event with the caption: "President McConnell is looking great," taking a jab at both the president and 84-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell who recently returned to Congress after a lengthy absence due to ill health.

The White House has repeatedly denied that Trump's closed eyes during public appearances indicate that he is falling asleep or experiencing a health problem.

“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously told Newsweek.

White House officials have explained previous occasions where Trump appears to close his eyes and slump into his seat as “blinking,” “listening attentively” and “reflecting.”

Trump himself has said he sometimes closes his eyes because he finds it relaxing and has denied actually sleeping during meetings.

The episode comes amid continuing public debate over the age of America's political leaders. Americans have not had a president under the age of 70 since Barack Obama left office in 2017, with Donald Trump born the same year as former President Bill Clinton, both now aged 80.

This is something that appears to be on the mind of voters. An August POLITICO/Public First electability experiment poll found that voters were generally comfortable with presidential candidates in their 50s and 60s, but candidates over 70 faced a clear electoral penalty across party lines, reducing their likelihood of being selected by roughly 8 to 10 percentage points.

Earlier this year, a YouGov poll found that around half of Americans believe that Donald Trump is too old to be president. In a poll of 1,134 voting-age U.S. citizens, 49 percent said Trump is too old to be president. The same poll found that 49 percent believe the president is suffering some level of cognitive decline and 58 percent believe he is suffering from physical decline—something the White House has repeatedly denied.

Following his May physical, Donald Trump’s physician said the president is in “excellent health” and “fully fit” to serve, adding that he has strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall health.

Update 9/29/26, 6:56 a.m. ET: This article was updated to with additional polling information.