Some observers were seriously concerned after former President Donald Trump, per reports, was seemingly falling asleep during the first day of his criminal trial in New York City on accusations of falsifying business records in connection to hush money from before the 2016 elections.
“At his OWN felony criminal trial, Donald Trump has fallen asleep. Add this to the long list of (even more serious) reasons he absolutely should not be in charge of our national security or Commander in Chief,” VoteVets, an advocacy organization focusing on veterans, said on X, the site formerly called Twitter.
Analyst Brian Rosenwald compared the situation to what might befall Biden in similar circumstances. “If Biden fell asleep in the middle of anything, it would be a major story. But this guy is on trial and falling asleep and I’m sure the headlines tomorrow won’t be “Snoozing Trump Raises Questions about Mental Fitness,”” Rosenwald posted.
“If Trump is too old and weak to stay awake at his own criminal trial, what do you think will happen in the Situation Room?” commentator Dan Pfeiffer added on the same social media platform.
Trump himself has made claims about competence a key issue in the 2024 presidential race, in which he is expected to face President Joe Biden in a rematch in this year’s general election amid the current race for the White House. “Sleepy Joe,” Trump’s circles have deemed the current president… so are they going to engage in any self-reflection now that Trump’s the one reportedly falling short like this? Of course, precedent suggests that the answer is “no.” Just compare Republican outrage at Biden’s classified documents issue to Republicans’ effectively complete dismissal of the seriousness of the criminal case against Trump over his handling of government documents from his presidential term.
Meanwhile, Trump’s trial proceedings were set to begin in part with jury selection this week, though prosecutors were also seeking consequences for what they called violations by Trump of a gag order from the judge.
