A weary President Trump appeared to drift through a cabinet meeting, leaving observers to wonder about the toll of leadership on the 79-year-old
Trump appeared more tired than usual during his cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and in one instance, he even seemed confused about which week it was.
In a wearier-than-usual voice, the president addressed the televised cabinet meeting, remarking, “And I just want to wish everybody a great holiday week.”
Trump commented on Tuesday, despite Thanksgiving week having just passed and Christmas still being over three weeks away. It was clear that the president was struggling with fatigue during the meeting, as evidenced by several pictures and video clips of him closing his eyes, looking as though he might fall asleep.
The clip was shared on X, to the amusement of online users, as one person replied, “I guess we’re doing weeklong Pearl Harbor Day celebrations?”
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Another added, “Just because your brain’s always off doesn’t mean the rest of us are on holiday.”
“That was LAST WEEK. Does he not remember that he pardoned some turkeys last week and then took longer than usual golf holiday?” commented somebody else, while another replied humerously, “I need to thaw another turkey?”
The sleepy president even tried to make the cabinet meeting go more quickly than usual by giving each Cabinet member a chance to speak, saying, “We’re gonna go quickly.” However, that didn’t stop most Cabinet members offering their long presentations.
As each official took their turns speaking, a TV camera caught the president struggling to stay alert, appearing to fight the temptation to fall asleep. The president proceeded to sit back in his chair with his eyes occasionally drooping and sometimes even shutting completely.
Trump’s most recent display of fatigue followed his criticism of a recent New York Times story examining his schedule and stamina at age 79. Trump took the opportunity to slam the Times story again early in Tuesday’s meeting and claimed he was “sharper than I was 25 years ago.”
He even slipped into the third person to assure everyone that “Trump is sharp, but they’re not sharp,” referring back to the newspaper.
The snoozy cabinet meeting scenes were shrugged off by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, when she was questioned about them later on Tuesday.
Leavitt said that Trump had been “listening attentively and running the entire three-hour marathon Cabinet meeting.”
“In all of these historic meetings, 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,” she added.
