Former President Donald Trump may have fallen asleep on Monday during his criminal trial in New York, leading many online to dub him “Sleepy Don.”
Trump, who is currently facing 34 felony counts over claims he falsified business records to hide hush money payments, was reported to have potentially dozed off by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman.
“Trump appears to be sleeping,” Haberman wrote. “His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”
Haberman followed up by noting that Trump “apparently jolted back awake, noticing the notes his lawyer passed him several minutes ago.”
The hashtag #SleepyDon quickly went viral on X, where users, particularly those in support of President Joe Biden, mocked the former president.
“Wait?! Y’all labeled Sleep Biden but Trump is literally asleep in court!” one user posted. “I can’t with y’all.”
Others argued that Trump supporters would likely respond to the trend by attempting to defend the apparent nap.
“How long before the MAGAcultists claim Trump was actually deep in prayer as opposed to taking a catnap during his own criminal? #sleepydon.”
Sure enough, right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk responded to the hashtag with one simple word: Beast.
Trump supporters in the comments agreed with Kirk as well, casting the apparent nap as a middle finger to the system.
“President Trump is the boss!” one user commented.
“Even when he’s sleeping Trump has more energy than Biden,” another added. “Such a rare occurrence every media outlet wants to talk about it.”
Prior to allegedly falling asleep, Trump’s trial had a rough start after prosecutors asked the judge to fine him for violating a gag order. Trump has repeatedly commented on the trial on Truth Social despite orders not to.
“The defendant has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order. He has attacked witnesses in the case, in the past he has attacked grand jurors in the case,” prosecutor Christopher Conroy said.
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