Trump ‘struggles to stay awake’ during Cabinet meeting

US President Donald Trump has come under renewed scrutiny after appearing to struggle to stay awake during a televised cabinet meeting, just moments after insisting he remained “sharper than I was 25 years ago”.

The incident followed his criticism of recent reports The New York Timessuggesting that he had slowed down during his second term.

Trump began the meeting by criticizing the media for what he considered unfair coverage and brushing off concerns about his age and health. But as cabinet members began giving in-depth assessments of his policies, cameras showed the 79-year-old US president regularly closing his eyes for long periods of time and often standing still for a few seconds.

Signs of sleepiness became more apparent as successive secretaries spoke in the room. Footage showed Trump’s eyes drooping as senior officials, including the secretaries of commerce, agriculture and finance, made their remarks.

The most intense moments came when Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke from a seat right next to the president, with the narrow camera angle highlighting Trump’s prolonged immobility and apparent sleep.

The White House denied Trump nodded, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting he was “listening intently” in what she described as a “marathon three-hour meeting.” He praised the president’s commitment and said he later fielded questions from reporters.

This is the second time in a month that Trump has appeared visibly sleepy during an official event. Footage from an Oval Office meeting on Nov. 6 showed him struggling to keep his eyes open for nearly 20 minutes. These images then went viral and sparked new debate about its durability.

While the brief lapses in alertness are not unusual for someone his age, the scenes have political resonance given Trump’s long-standing attacks on former President Joe Biden, whom he regularly derided as “Sleepy Joe.” Trump has often criticized Biden for appearing tired in public and has previously insisted that a president sleeping in front of the cameras was “inappropriate.”