Sleepy Joe, meet dozing Don.
Donald Trump, who has repeatedly derided his Democratic opponent Joe Biden with digs at his age and vigor, appeared to nod off in Manhattan court on Monday, hours before jury selection on the first day of his historic hush-money criminal trial.
The former US president seemed to slip toward sleepiness at approximately noon. The events unfolded several hours into lugubrious legal battles over evidence that dominated the morning session in the downtown Manhattan courtroom.
The housekeeping back-and-forth between Trump’s team and prosecutors seemed like it might finally come to an end, as the judge Juan Merchan appeared eager to move things along. Merchan noted that there were hundreds of potential panelists waiting in the wings for jury selection to start.
Right around this time, reporters in the overflow courtroom noticed a curious movement on-screen. Trump’s eyes appeared closed – beyond their normal level of squinting. Meanwhile, it seemed like Trump’s head was edging forward, progressing downward until it would cause him to stir and right himself.
The cycle repeated several times. Members of the press in a media overflow room glanced toward one another, sometimes pointing to the screen, uncertain how to process what they most certainly saw: the first former American president to face a criminal trial had just nodded off in court.
When court resumed after lunch, Trump did not seem afflicted by sleepiness. He could be seen gesturing with his hands in conversation with his attorney.
His voice carried to the back of Merchan’s courtroom, per a pool report, though exactly what he was saying could not be heard. Nor was Trump seeming inactive online. All morning his Truth Social account posted message after message deriding the trial and attacking those he sees as his enemies.