During the first day of his criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records, former President Donald Trump apparently "glared" at reporter Maggie Haberman of The New York Times after she wrote that he appeared to be "sleeping" in court.
Per the press room report, after jurors left the courtroom during an afternoon break Monday, Trump stared at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, then turned his eyes to the press pool and glared at Haberman for several seconds as he walked out.
Jury selection in the trial determining whether Trump falsified business documents stemming from a hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels began Monday morning. Bragg last year charged Trump on a 34-count indictment related to the payment, which his office alleges was intended to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about her claims of having an affair with the former president.
Trump, however, has denied having an affair with Daniels and pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges. He has accused Bragg of targeting him for political purposes, calling the trial a form of election interference.
Trump on Monday appeared to be sleeping during trial proceedings, Haberman, veteran journalist for the Times, wrote in the publication's live blog.
"Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack," she wrote.
During an interview on CNN, Haberman said there were other moments in previous trials, including the civil defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll in which Trump "appeared very still and seemed as if he might be sleeping but then he would move."
But his conduct appeared different on Monday, Haberman said.
"This time, he didn't pay attention to a note that his lawyer Todd Blanche passed him. His jaw kept falling on his chest, and his mouth kept going slack. Now, sometimes people do fall asleep during court proceedings, but it's notable given the intensity of this morning," she said.
Haberman has extensively covered Trump as a candidate and during his first term in the White House. She also wrote the 2022 book, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.
On MSNBC, Susanne Craig, investigative reporter for the Times, added that Trump seemed alert during the morning but that "everything changed around noon."
"He looked like he was nodding off," she said. "At one point, a pretty true tell that he was falling asleep, his head nodded down. He sort of jolted back up at one point."
Newsweek reached out to Haberman, Trump's campaign and Blanche for comment via email on Monday afternoon.
The report drew a quick reaction from social media, where some ridiculed the former president. Others, however, raised concerns about whether the report should be something of a warning sign about his state of mind ahead of the presidential election in November.
Both Trump and President Joe Biden, the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, respectively, have fielded questions about their age and cognitive ability as they campaign for president.
Jury proceedings for Trump's hush-money trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
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