President Donald Trump appeared to struggle to stay alert several times during his three-hour Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2, with cameras capturing moments when the 79-year-old president squinted, visibly tired, and at least once fully closed his eyes as his team spoke around the long table.
Throughout the meeting, Cabinet officials took turns outlining their accomplishments and praising the administration, while Trump sat listening — sometimes with his eyes narrowed, other times seemingly shut for a few seconds at a time.
In one notable moment, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke, Trump appeared to fully close his eyes for several seconds before leaning forward again to respond to Lutnick’s comments.
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Trump’s tired appearance followed a heavy stretch of online activity the night before. On Monday, Dec. 1, he launched into a late-night posting spree on Truth Social, sharing more than 160 posts between 7 p.m. and midnight. By 5:48 a.m. on Tuesday, he was back on the platform ahead of the Cabinet session.
When reached for comment about his demeanor, the White House provided a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“President Trump was listening attentively and running the entire three-hour marathon Cabinet meeting,” said Leavitt, 28, before repeating a new White House talking point that Somali immigrants do not belong in Minnesota.
“Just go back and watch his amazing final answer in the press conference, where he ripped into the America-Last Democrats for allowing radical Somali migrants to invade our country and steal from American taxpayers,” she added. “This epic moment put an exclamation point on President Trump’s ninth Cabinet meeting of his second term—all of which have been entirely open to the press for the whole world to see.”
“In all of these historic meetings,” she concluded, “the President and his incredible team highlight the exhaustive list of accomplishments they have delivered on behalf of the American people to Make America Great Again.”
Questions about Trump’s energy level have surfaced before. Last year, he denied reports that he fell asleep in court during his criminal trial in New York. Multiple outlets described him appearing to nod off in a Manhattan courtroom, with The New York Times reporting that “Mr. Trump appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.”
Trump rejected those accounts in a May 2, 2024, Truth Social post, writing: “Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!”
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At 79, Trump is the oldest person ever elected president. A recent New York Times report, which angered him, detailed how his schedule has shifted in his second term, saying he has scaled back public appearances and suggesting that “when he is in public, occasionally, his battery shows signs of wear.”
Trump blasted the story as a “hit piece,” writing on social media: “There will be a day when I run low on Energy, it happens to everyone, but with a PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (‘That was aced’) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN, it certainly is not now!”
The president frequently contrasts his stamina with that of former President Joe Biden, whom he has long mocked with the nickname “Sleepy Joe.”
After images of Trump appearing to close his eyes during an Oval Office announcement went viral last month, he pushed back by attacking Biden’s energy level instead.
“He sleeps all the time — during the day, during the night, on the beach,” Trump said of the former president, who returned to private life in January. Trump then added, “I’m not a sleeper.”
Trump — who was meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office when he made those comments — said the two leaders “talk at night” and speak at “the craziest times.”
“When you love your job, when you love your country, and when you’re in a position like we are … you’re thinking about your country,” Trump said. “He thinks about his country, and I think about my country. I don’t want to sleep.”
