The White House is facing fresh attention after Donald Trump was seen with his eyes closed during an Oval Office event on maternal health. When questions spread online, the official response from the White House rapid response account was blunt: “He was blinking, you absolute moron.”
Trump, 79, was seated behind his desk with Cabinet members, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, and Dr. Mehmet Oz nearby when video and photos began circulating. The images quickly gained traction on social media, and the administration was pushed to explain what many viewers interpreted as more than a brief blink.
White House Defends the Moment
The White House repeated the same explanation when asked about the footage, saying the president was simply blinking. That defense was also used after Reuters published a photo showing Trump with his eyes shut during the event.
Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu mocked the response by posting video of Trump with his eyes closed and writing, “Dear @RapidResponse47: That is a verrrrrrrrryyyyy long blink.” The clip showed Trump’s eyes closed for 17 continuous seconds, intensifying the online debate over whether the president had nodded off.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung later hit back at Lieu, calling him “a loser of the highest order” and saying he needed professional help for what he described as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The White House did not immediately offer a new explanation beyond the blinking claim when contacted again.
A Familiar Pattern Around Trump’s Public Fatigue
The Oval Office scene did not come out of nowhere. It came just a week after Trump appeared tired during another Oval Office event focused on bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools.
Similar episodes have also surfaced in April, March, February, and January, making the latest incident part of a broader pattern of public scrutiny around Trump’s energy levels. The issue has drawn more attention because Trump often attacked his predecessor as “Sleepy Joe,” making any sign of drowsiness politically sensitive.
Trump previously denied falling asleep in public when asked about earlier episodes. He told The Wall Street Journal that he sometimes closes his eyes because it relaxes him, and he described the photos as misleading moments captured during blinking.
“It’s very relaxing to me,” Trump said. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”
Questions About Sleep and Travel
The latest moment also renewed discussion of Trump’s sleep habits, which have been the subject of outside reporting. A Daily Beast analysis found that in April, his late-night and early-morning social media posting kept him from getting a full night’s sleep on all but five nights.
That pattern could matter again as Trump prepares to travel to and from China. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins previously said he gets very little rest on overseas trips, describing him as someone who stays awake talking for long stretches and may even wake staff if they are asleep.
“He doesn’t sleep on these trips,” Collins told podcaster Jason Tartick last October. She also said a source once told her, “You never wanna be on Air Force One on a trip.”
The White House’s “blinking” explanation may calm part of the criticism, but the footage, the length of the eye closure, and the repeated public moments of apparent fatigue are likely to keep the issue alive as Trump continues making high-profile appearances.
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