Democrats Mock Trump as "Commander-in-Sleep" After 3 p.m. Oval Office Briefing
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jun 5
Democrats Mock Trump as "Commander-in-Sleep" After 3 p.m. Oval Office Briefing
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jun 5
Summary
Trump appeared to close his eyes for several moments during a Thursday 3 p.m. Oval Office event on “clean coal” after handing the floor to EPA chief Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Democrats and liberal accounts quickly turned the clip into a political attack, with the Democratic Party’s X account calling him the “Commander-in-Sleep” and allies of Kathy Hochul and Gavin Newsom piling on.
The White House denied Trump had fallen asleep, saying he was merely blinking and reviving the same defense it used after a May 11 photo showed him with his eyes closed.
The episode also reopened questions about Trump’s health, with cardiologist Jonathan Reiner calling the behavior “not normal” and Rep. Ted Lieu saying Trump “is not well,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had never seen him sleep in meetings.
Those claims clash with White House physician Sean Barbabella’s recent exam, which said Trump was in “excellent health” with strong cardiac, pulmonary and neurological function.