A new video shared on 5 May 2026 by journalist Aaron Rupar on X has gone viral, showing President Donald Trump appearing to struggle to stay awake during a White House event, with children visible around him and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr speaking in the background. Rupar's caption was direct: 'Trump, surrounded by kids, is struggling to stay awake as RFK Jr drones on and on.'
The clip, which had amassed more than 37,700 views within hours of being posted, drew an immediate wave of reactions online — many of them drawing comparisons to Trump's own long-running mockery of former President Joe Biden.
Not His First On-Camera Nod
This is far from an isolated incident. As recently as 23 April 2026, Trump appeared to nod off during a live televised event at the Oval Office, where his eyes were observed closing fully, reopening, and then fluttering shut again as Cabinet members and company executives stood behind him. That earlier moment also went viral and prompted significant public commentary.
Before that, in December 2025, Trump appeared to wage a lengthy and often-losing battle with a midday nap during a Cabinet meeting, even as his Cabinet was assembled to engage in one of his favourite activities — singing his praises. In March, Trump was photographed with his eyes closed and his head jerking during the Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable on 23 March, as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth praised him from the podium.
The 'Sleepy Joe' Reversal
The irony has not been lost on critics. In a resurfaced clip from 2024, Trump boasted about Joe Biden's tendency to fall asleep on camera, saying: 'He has an ability to fall asleep while on camera... in minutes, he's stone-cold out... You'll never see me sleeping in front of a camera.'
Trump continued criticising Biden on the subject across 2022 and 2023. After Biden's State of the Union in early 2024, Trump said that 'most of the time, he looks like he's falling asleep,' and later accused the then-president of falling asleep 'at every single event.'
Trump denied the on-camera drowsiness, saying: 'It's boring as hell... I'm hearing every word, and I can't wait to get out.' He separately argued the images showed him blinking: 'Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking. And they'll catch me with the blink.'
Medical Perspective
Medical analyst Dr Jonathan Reiner, who previously served as cardiologist to Vice President Dick Cheney, shared an earlier clip on X with a pointed observation: 'When a patient tells me that they can't stay awake in meetings, we do formal sleep testing to look for sleep apnea... the president continues to struggle with daytime somnolence.' Reiner told CNN's Jake Tapper: 'He's fallen asleep in a crowded Oval Office and he's also fallen asleep at Cabinet meetings with people talking directly to him. That's what's called increased daytime somnolence.'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, responding to earlier episodes, said Trump had undergone a 'preventative' MRI and that his health remains 'excellent.'
Trump, surrounded by kids, is struggling to stay awake as RFK Jr drones on and on pic.twitter.com/hXrfk9uuSU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 5, 2026
Growing Public Concern
The recurring clips have coincided with broader public scepticism. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2026 found that 61 per cent of Americans would describe Trump as having 'become erratic with age,' including 30 per cent of Republicans and 64 per cent of independents. Only 45 per cent said they would describe him as 'mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,' down from 54 per cent in a September 2023 survey.
Questions about the alertness and fitness of a sitting US president carry real consequences — not merely as political fodder, but as a matter of governance and national security. Trump, at 79, is the oldest sitting president in American history. Each new viral moment adds to a pattern that the public, medical observers, and political opponents are all watching closely — and one that the White House has yet to address with any substantive medical transparency.
