After footage circulated showing President Donald Trump apparently dozing at Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral on July 28, 2026, the administration struck back forcefully, with spokesman Davis Ingle dismissing critics as “depraved moron[s].” The president, who is 80 years old, had spoken at Washington National Cathedral to honor the South Carolina Republican, calling him “a force to be reckoned with.”
According to Ingle, Trump “was reflecting on the loss of his dear friend” rather than sleeping. The spokesman said that characterizing the moment any other way meant someone “is a depraved moron.”
Viral Video Sparks Debate
Video and still images from the Tuesday ceremony showed Trump’s eyes appearing to close heavily following his tribute. The @HQNewsNow account posted that the president looked “completely passed out asleep” during the memorial, while user Aaron Rupar shared footage describing his face as “drooping heavily” as he struggled to stay awake. An Associated Press photo captured the president sitting alongside JD Vance, Scott Bessent and Eric Trump at the cathedral.
The ceremony brought together multiple administration officials who sat together as Trump delivered remarks about Graham. But rather than the eulogy drawing attention, what happened afterward became the focus of online discussion.
Recent History of Similar Episodes
This isn’t the first time such questions have emerged in 2026. In February, Trump appeared to nod off during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in the nation’s capital. During a May Oval Office event centered on maternal health, he seemed to doze, though the White House claimed he was simply “blinking.”
Last month brought another Oval Office incident, this time at a gathering advocating for religious integration in government, where Trump appeared to fall asleep.
On June 4, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright spoke, the president seemed to lean backward into his seat and lose consciousness as he announced his “Trump Promenade,” a proposed pedestrian path connecting the Lincoln Memorial’s back entrance to the Potomac River. When Kamala Harris’ news account shared a clip, the administration’s official Rapid Response operation responded on X, insisting his eyes remained “literally open in the clip you posted.” A report published June 5, 2026, observed that the president’s visible aging had become difficult to explain away, despite officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming they never see him sleeping.
Correspondents’ Dinner Controversy
Just days earlier, on Friday, Trump had attended a scaled-back White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, where he was seen repeatedly shutting his eyes during long portions of the speeches. The Waldorf Astoria, previously operating as Trump International Hotel, took over hosting duties from the Washington Hilton after that venue’s multi-decade run ended.
The July dinner served as a replacement after the April 25 event was canceled when 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen broke through security barriers and opened fire at the ballroom’s entrance area. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and roughly 2,600 other guests had to shelter during the incident. The rescheduled gathering drew 700 people. First Lady Melania Trump, captured on video displaying visible fear during April’s attack, did not attend the July event. Vance, now father to four children following a recent birth, and Rubio, who had been on diplomatic missions in Southeast Asia, also skipped the dinner.
During his remarks, Trump told attendees “the show must go on” and riffed on renaming the event after himself, saying Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison had told him next year’s dinner would bear Trump’s name. The event featured commentary mocking his stance on press freedom and a presentation highlighting investigative journalism about an inappropriate letter he purportedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted child sex trafficker.
Trump also revived his attacks on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, calling her “a young attractive woman” who “never smiles” while making unfavorable comparisons to Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media personality. He made comments directed at Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding beef tenderloin and made humorous references to avoiding physical confrontations with Communications Director Steven Cheung.
The administration’s stance toward such observations remains combative: the president was awake — and doubters are morons.
