Donald Trump Courtroom Sketch Suggests He Indeed Was Sleeping

A courtroom sketch of Donald Trump suggests he may have fallen asleep during the first day of his criminal trial.

On April 15, New York Times senior correspondent Maggie Haberman said the former president appeared to be sleeping during the opening day of his trial investigating alleged hush-money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels and another woman. The former president faces 34 felony counts relating to falsifying business records to conceal the payments, which were made in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied having a relationship with Daniels.

"Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack," Haberman wrote in a New York Times blog post during his court appearance. Now, a sketch by veteran courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg suggests Haberman's claim is correct. The sketch shows Trump sitting in a chair with his eyes closed and his head tilted slightly to one side. Newsweek has contacted Trump's team for comment via email outside normal working hours.

Other journalists present in the courtroom have also corroborated Haberman's statement. "He looked like he was nodding off, and at one point—in a pretty true tell that he was falling asleep—his head nodded down, and then he sort of jolted back up at one point," Susanne Craig, also of the New York Times, said on MSNBC.

The incident has been widely discussed, with Trump's critics quick to mock him. The Late Show host Stephen Colbert remarked on his Tuesday evening program: "Yesterday, Trump fell asleep during the proceedings. He took a little white power nap."

"After years of anticipation, the first criminal trial of a former president has begun," said Daily Show host Jon Stewart Monday evening, "and by all accounts it is absolutely riveting." He added, "Imagine committing so many crimes, you get bored at your own trial."

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel gave the former president the moniker "Dozo the Clown." He said the trial was expected to last six weeks or "until the courtroom sketch artist runs out of orange, whichever comes first."

"Imagine if Joe Biden fell asleep in the court on the first day of his trial," the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host told viewers. "Trump would be calling him comatose. Fox News would be talking about this until Christmas, but not ol' Donny Nappleseed."

He added: "It's nice to see that even Donald Trump is exhausted by Donald Trump."

Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, has not granted permission for television cameras to broadcast from inside the New York courtroom. As filming is not permitted for the duration of Trump's latest legal battle, accounts of what takes place within are expected to come from a handful of reporters and sketch artists.