Former President Donald Trump explained reports of him falling 'asleep' in court in a social media post on Thursday.
Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is facing 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records relating to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, to keep her quiet about her rumored 2006 affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies all charges, as well as an affair with Daniels.
Throughout Trump's trial, which is in its third week, there have been reports from journalists in the courtroom that the former president has dozed off.
During the first day of the trial, which consisted of jury selection, Maggie Haberman, a journalist for The New York Times, wrote in the publication's live blog, "Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack."
Following reports of Trump nodding off in court, President Joe Biden's reelection campaigned turned one of Trump's most notorious insults of his political rival—calling Biden "Sleepy Joe"—on its head, by calling Trump "Sleepy Don."
In an attempt to put these reports to bed, Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social on Wednesday: "Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don't fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.'s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!"
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
Trump was referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who brought the hush money case against him in his Truth Social post. The former president has been critical of Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, and has claimed that the case is politically motivated against him.
He has even gotten into trouble for attacking other people involved in the case who are protected under a gag order imposed by Merchan.
While Merchan and Bragg are fair game, Trump cannot publicly comment on certain actors in the case, including potential witnesses like Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen who was the one who paid off Daniels before Trump allegedly reimbursed him.
Merchan already fined Trump $9,000 for violating the gag order with nine posts on Truth Social and his campaign website and warned that Trump could face jail time if he keeps ignoring the order. Meanwhile, there was a hearing on Thursday to consider four more potential violations of the order.
Also on Thursday, Daniels' former attorney Keith Davidson was cross-examined which led to a heated exchange between him and Trump's lawyer Emil Bove. Davidson revealed in court earlier this week that he believed the hush money payment was coming from Trump or "some corporate affiliation thereof," rather than Cohen.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
