We’ve all seen the photos and videos that show President Donald Trump looking like he’s dozing off during important meetings. Lately, it feels like there’s more and more of them. But, as you’ve probably heard, Trump is allegedly not sleeping in those photos and videos. According to Trump himself, he’s just relaxing with his eyes closed. And sometimes, photographers are supposedly catching him mid-blink.
Well, anyway, his naps—or, blinks, as he would say—appear to be getting longer. And given that the recent evidence of this is a video and not an image, blaming a photographer wouldn’t make much sense.
The clip made it look like he couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Commander-in-Sleep 🥱 https://t.co/0n8ZdQVhPI
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) August 10, 2026
During a recent Oval Office event for an executive order related to childhood vaccine recommendations. Trump did not appear to be overly interested in the topic, as footage circulating on social media appeared to show him struggling to stay awake.
Trump’s critics were not necessarily surprised by this. “If the subject is not about the ballroom or how much $$$ he can scam, he tunes out,” one of them wrote on X.
The Republicans against Trump account added, “At this point, it’s news when he makes it through a public event without falling asleep.” The Democrats account reacted to the clip by referring to Trump as the “Commander-in-Sleep.”
A conspiracy theory about the woman standing beside him also emerged.
I’m just pregnant you weirdos 😂😭 https://t.co/NG3tYyJmXy
— Jayme Leagh Franklin (@jaymefranklin16) August 12, 2026
Former Trump White House staffer Jayme Leagh Franklin was there for the meeting and visible in the footage. People on social media noticed that she repeatedly touched her stomach in the video. They started thinking that maybe the times in which Franklin touched her stomach actually lined up with the times that Trump startled awake, which sparked conspiracy theories about her functioning as the “zapper” tasked with keeping Trump awake during the meeting via a secret button under her clothes.
“The lady with her hand across her stomach has been called ‘the zapper,'” someone wrote. “She gets a signal & zaps him back to consciousness. Sheesh. WTF America?”
However, Franklin addressed these conspiracy theories in her own post, claiming that she is not a “zapper” and was not trying to keep the president awake. “I’m just pregnant you weirdos 😂😭” she wrote.
And some people actually defended Trump.
At this point, it’s news when he makes it through a public event without falling asleep https://t.co/dkzXBLR3gw
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 10, 2026
Trump’s critics tried to predict how those who typically defend Trump might spin this. “Fox News: ‘Trump is just blinking very slowly, he never sleeps’, lol” one critic joked.
And yeah, multiple people really did try to say that Trump wasn’t actually sleeping in the clip. Instead, he was just “resting his eyes,” “closing his eyes,” or “looking down.”
Far-right commentator Laura Loomer was among the people who defended him. “He is looking down. He’s not sleeping…” she wrote. “Imagine saying someone is sleeping everytime they close their eyes for 2 seconds.”
At the same time, some of the people who defended him didn’t exactly deny that he appeared to be sleeping. They actually seemed to admit that it did look that way, but acted like they could understand why he would be sleeping during the meeting: He does so much. He’s 80 years old. Perhaps he was bored. Apparently, these are all acceptable excuses in some people’s eyes.
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