President Donald Trump was captured on video apparently falling asleep during a State Department roundtable on August 8, 2026, marking the latest in a series of public incidents that have intensified scrutiny of the 80-year-old president’s health and stamina.
The Friday event, which featured Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussing mining sector assistance and announcing a $3 billion investment into the mining industry, showed Trump with his eyes closed while Rubio spoke. Critics on social media swiftly described the moment as “humiliating for the country” and “elder abuse,” with some calling for invocation of the 25th Amendment.
Medical Expert Raises Alarm Over Chronic Drowsiness
In May 2026, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who serves as both a CNN medical analyst and teaches cardiology at George Washington University, addressed concerns about Trump’s fitness on air with CNN host Kate Bolduan ahead of the president’s trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his second examination since the previous October. Reiner has extensive experience having treated former Vice President Dick Cheney for many years.
Reiner stated the president regularly exhibits extreme sleepiness throughout the day, often drifting off while conducting business with aides in key White House locations such as the Oval Office and cabinet room. He warned that prolonged sleep deprivation, which he identified as a possible underlying cause, poses particular dangers for elderly individuals, notably heightening dementia risk and causing observable drops in mental sharpness.
The doctor also pointed to other visible health concerns: recurring bruising on the president’s hands as well as notable swelling affecting his ankles and lower legs. The administration had previously blamed the bruises on aggressive handshaking while citing chronic venous insufficiency for the leg swelling, yet Reiner found these justifications difficult to accept. He urged the administration to disclose whether any medical evaluation or treatment had been pursued for Trump’s pattern of excessive daytime sleepiness.
Documented Episodes Across Multiple Events
On December 2, 2025, just after noon during a Cabinet meeting, Trump opened by invoking his “Sleepy Joe” nickname for former President Joe Biden and declaring himself “sharper than I was 25 years ago” — responding to a New York Times piece suggesting the president, then 79, had shown diminished energy in his second term. Yet during the next 90 minutes, CNN observed Trump battling to stay alert, his eyelids growing heavy as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed trade policy.
Roughly three weeks earlier, on November 6, 2025, Trump participated in an Oval Office event where he announced reduced pricing for weight-loss medications. Photos and video from the session spread rapidly across social platforms, depicting the president with closed eyes, fighting to maintain alertness, and repeatedly touching his face. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s communications team immediately shared the imagery accompanied by the text: “DOZY DON IS BACK.”
At a March 2026 National Guard briefing, witnesses noted Trump shutting his eyes for intervals lasting between 10 and 15 seconds.
White House Pushes Back Hard
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers pushed back sharply following the November weight-loss drug event, emphasizing that the president remained verbally engaged and responded to multiple reporter inquiries. Rogers contended the coverage represented a “garbage narrative” from “the failing, liberal media.”
After Reiner’s May 2026 appearance on CNN, the White House rapid response account on social media attempted to turn the criticism back on Bolduan and her guest by claiming their own eyes appeared closed during the broadcast. White House spokesman Davis Ingle called Reiner “a Democrat hack doctor” and insisted Trump is “the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.”
At the December 2025 Cabinet meeting, Trump himself dismissed the health coverage, telling reporters, “You people are crazy,” and characterizing it as politically motivated.
The Age Factor and Unanswered Medical Questions
Trump, who is the oldest man ever inaugurated to the presidency, spent much of his first term and his 2024 campaign attacking former President Joe Biden — who had held the record as the oldest sitting president — over questions about age and mental acuity. That history makes the current scrutiny particularly charged.
Supporters point to genuine counterarguments. Trump regularly appears before cameras for extended stretches, takes unscripted questions from journalists, delivered an economic speech in Miami that ran more than an hour, and completed a three-nation swing through Asia. Aides describe a president who contacts staff at all hours of the day and night. Context also matters: even former President Barack Obama was occasionally observed rubbing fatigued eyes during lengthy international summits.
What sets the current situation apart, according to those raising concerns, is the documented pattern of episodes across multiple settings regardless of the stakes of the event. Reiner’s public call for the White House to disclose what medical evaluation, if any, has addressed the issue remains unanswered. Questions about whether Trump has undergone an MRI as part of a physical, and what conclusions his physicians have drawn, have not been addressed in official readouts. The White House has not provided a detailed medical response to the pattern of incidents or to the specific questions raised by Reiner and others.
