Trump ‘struggles to stay awake’ during cabinet meeting

US President Donald Trump came under renewed scrutiny after appearing to struggle to stay awake during a televised cabinet meeting, only moments after insisting he remained “sharper than I was 25 years ago”.

The incident followed his criticism of recent reporting in The New York Times, suggesting he had slowed during his second term.

Trump started the meeting by criticising the media for what he considered unfair coverage and brushing off concerns about his age and health. But as cabinet members started giving in-depth evaluations of his policies, cameras showed the 79-year-old US president regularly closing his eyes for long stretches of time and frequently standing still for a few seconds.

The signs of drowsiness became more evident as successive secretaries addressed the room. Footage showed Trump’s eyes drooping as senior officials, including the commerce, agriculture and treasury secretaries, delivered their remarks.

The most pronounced moments occurred while Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke from a seat directly beside the president, with the close camera angle highlighting Trump’s prolonged stillness and apparent dozing.

The White House denied that Trump had nodded off, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting he had been “listening attentively” throughout what she described as a “three-hour marathon meeting”. She praised the president’s engagement and said he later fielded questions from reporters.

This is the second time in a month that Trump has appeared visibly drowsy during an official event. Footage from a November 6 Oval Office gathering showed him fighting to keep his eyes open for nearly 20 minutes. Those images subsequently went viral and prompted fresh debate about his stamina.

While brief lapses in alertness are not unusual for someone of his age, the scenes carry political resonance given Trump’s long-standing attacks on former president Joe Biden, whom he regularly mocked as “Sleepy Joe”. Trump frequently criticised Biden for appearing tired in public and had previously insisted that a president falling asleep in view of cameras was “unbecoming”.