Donald Trump keeps trying to convince us that he’s got what it takes to lead the country for the next four years, but it seems he couldn’t even make it five minutes without nodding off on the first day of his own criminal trial.
The felonious 45th president of the United States began his much-publicized “hush money” trial on April 15, in which he stands accused of falsifying financial records in order to make an illicit payment of $100,000 to former lover Stormy Daniels. If found guilty, Trump could theoretically be sentenced to over a decade behind bars. So you’d think he’d be feeling pretty tense as proceedings started.
As it happens, reports indicate he couldn’t even keep himself awake.
Donald Trump reportedly “nodded off” during first day of criminal trial
As the trial is not being televised, it remains up to reporters present for the action to keep us up to date. According to The New York Times‘ study of Trump’s demeanor and behavior during the first day of the case, his attitude and level of attention was all over the place, ranging from laughing at his own tweets to falling asleep and needing to be woken by his attorney.
With the trial yet to fully get underway, the court decided pretrial motions on April 15 ahead of selecting a jury. While lawyers debated last-minute issues to do with case specifics, Trump is noted to have “appeared to nod off a few times,” with “his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.” Trump was so lost in the Land of Nod, in fact, that his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, was seen passing him notes for “several minutes” before Trump “appeared to jolt awake and notice them.”
Knowing Trump, it’s vaguely possible he was not genuinely falling asleep but was play-acting in a childish attempt to indicate that this whole trial is beneath him and nothing more than a “witch hunt,” as he’s so often remarked on social media. That said, his general mood did seem pretty erratic, going by NYT‘s report.
He is noted to have smirked and scoffed throughout, in regards to various remarks from the prosecution, as well as becoming visibly “frustrated” when Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately agree that he could skip court in order to attend his son Barron’s graduation. Trump is also described as having “sat motionless” when the Access Hollywood tape that lives on in infamy, the one that captures his prideful comments about grabbing women’s genitals, was played to the court.
Trump was most energized, it is said, when one of his tweets criticizing former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael D. Cohen, was read. When the judge warned him that he could be thrown out of court or even thrown in jail if he interrupts or interjects during proceedings, however, Trump reportedly “indicated that he had understood.”
You might want to stock up on caffeine pills, Sleepy Donald, because this is only Day One and the fun’s just getting started…
