Donald Trump Insists He's Not a 'Sleeper' Despite Dozing Off in the Middle of White House Event

Donald Trump is pushing back on claims that he’s a “sleeper” — even though cameras caught him nodding off during a White House meeting this week.

On Tuesday, November 18, the president met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and at one point, footage showed Trump slumped in his chair, clearly fighting to stay awake. The moment immediately went viral, especially when a Saudi reporter brought up Trump’s previous praise for the crown prince’s nonstop work ethic during his visit to Riyadh back in May.

Trying to tie the two together, the reporter asked, “How do you manage your own time and what’s your formula for management?”

“He does not sleep much, and I don’t sleep much,” he said, adding that both men are supposedly too busy “thinking about our countries” to rest.

As OK! previously reported, this isn’t the first time Trump has been caught snoozing in public.

Cameras spotted him sleeping at the U.S. Open in September and again at a GLP-1 press conference earlier in November. Observers have pointed to these moments repeatedly as questions keep swirling about his health and possible cognitive decline. He also appeared to doze off at Charlie Kirk’s funeral and memorial service on September 21.

But his team keeps insisting the problem isn’t sleepiness — it’s lack of sleep.

J.D. Vance recently revealed just how intense Trump’s schedule is. During a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on November 13, the vice president said many colleagues are jealous that he doesn’t have to fly with Trump.

“They are always like, ‘You’re so lucky because if we go on a 20-hour trip somewhere, he does not sleep the entire time,’” Vance told Hannity. Per protocol, Vance doesn’t fly on the same plane as the president in case the VP needs to step in during an emergency.

Vance went on to say that if Trump stays up working through the night — which he claimed happens often — everyone around him is expected to keep pace. Hannity even chimed in with his own example, recalling a long overseas golf trip.

“Seventeen hours there, 17 hours back, and he’s awake the whole time. And he expects you to be awake!” the Fox News host said.

Vance also insisted Trump is in “excellent health” and said his energy level is “off the charts.”

He added, “Every Democrat and Republican would recognize that this is a guy that has the energy to do the job. That’s a rare thing, but that’s who you should be electing as a president, somebody who has the energy for it.”

Still, not everyone is convinced.

Don Lemon called out Trump’s inner circle for brushing off signs of decline. During his October 28 broadcast, Lemon accused Republicans of “holding his hand through it” and “pretending that he’s sharp” because “the truth scares them.”

“They’d rather lie to the country than admit that it’s over,” Lemon said.