Donald Trump famously mocked Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe” during the 2020 presidential election, but it is the Republican politician who is now being called out for seemingly falling asleep on camera again.
President Trump, 78, was seen shutting his eyes during a televised meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13.
The American leader traveled to the Middle East region to establish a “defense cooperation agreement” between the United States and the Saudi kingdom, according to Reuters.
A reported $142 billion arms package deal for Saudi Arabia was overshadowed on social media by a video of Trump repeatedly dozing off while seated in a chair.
Radio personality D.L. Hughley, 62, shared a clip of Trump nodding off while sitting with MBS on his Instagram page. The comedian presented his own mocking nickname, “Donald Slump.”
Hughley reposted the video from the @ReallyAmerican1 account on X. The self-described grassroots political organization blasted the media for not putting more attention on Trump’s napping moment in Riyadh.
“BREAKING: Sleepy Don can barely keep his eyes open while representing the United States in Saudi Arabia,” read the @ReallyAmerican1 tweet.
The post continued, “If this were President Biden, there would be nonstop coverage of his cognitive condition and his physical fitness. Where is the media outrage?”
Hughley’s Instagram followers also had a lot to say about Trump presumably taking a quick siesta on the world stage. His comment section was flooded with people blasting the former “The Apprentice” reality show host.
“He’s tired, he’s been working really hard at destroying our democracy,” someone sacrcatsily suggested to why Trump was caught snoozing. A second person stated, “Wake up, grandpa. It’s time to eat again.”
A third posted, “Not Sleepy Trump, the one that was calling Biden sleepy.” In response, another person aimed at the POTUS by writing, “He was sleepy the whole time he was calling Biden sleepy.”
However, a backer of the president argued, “I guess Trump can’t have jet lag?? When you post this, you lose credibility and wonder why people don’t approve of Democrats as a whole. You @realdlhughley are partly to blame.”
That sentiment was a minority opinion as most of the commenters agreed with Hughely’s take. For instance, one individual asked, “Why does he fall asleep everywhere he goes? The minute he sits down, he starts to doze off. What’s going on?”
Trump does have a history of falling asleep in public. Journalists reported that the University of Pennsylvania graduate’s head kept “dropping down” on the opening day of his 2024 falsifying business records criminal trial in New York.
Throughout the court case, Trump was constantly motionless with his eyes closed. He was eventually convicted on all 34 counts, becoming the first U.S. president to be a convicted felon.
There was also unsubstantiated speculation that Trump briefly slept while attending former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral in January.
“No, I don’t fall asleep,” Trump insisted, per the Associated Press. “I sometimes will sit back, close my eyes. I hear everything perfectly. At some point, I may fall asleep. But I will let you know when that is.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also denied that Trump was dozing out during his recent Saudi Arabia visit. He said, “It’s clear that President Trump was fully engaged and listening intently as he finalized historic deals on his return to Saudi Arabia.”
In addition, Cheung accused media critics of “taking their cues of liberal liars” and “deceiving the American people.” Trump administration officials regularly attack the press in reaction to negative news stories about the president.
Hughley is one of the most vocal celebrity figures to criticize Trump. “The Original Kings of Comedy” star has been blasting the New York businessman even before his first presidential election victory in 2016.
“I think the more racist stuff Trump says, the better he does in the polls. If he said n—–, he’d be elected tomorrow,” Hughley expressed in 2015. “Anybody that takes Trump — Trump being president is like Flavor Flav winning a spelling bee. I just don’t know how they take that seriously.”
In January 2025, Hughley took issue with hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg performing at Trump’s second inauguration. The 2024 Democratic National Convention speaker also chastised NFL running back Saquon Barkley in April 2025 for going on a golfing outing with Trump.
