President Donald Trump appeared to doze off during a roundtable meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Monday.
This is the second time in less than a week that the 79-year-old president has been caught struggling to stay awake at an official event.
Trump announced a multibillion-dollar aid package for U.S. farmers hurt by the global trade war at a roundtable meeting on Monday.
But when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlings began explaining the plan, the elderly president fell into a blank stare.
President Donald Trump appeared to doze off and then suddenly wake up during a roundtable meeting at the White House on Monday. /The Daily Beast/GIFs from the White House
At one point, he tilted his head towards Rollins, 53, causing his eyes to close and his head to tilt forward slightly before he jerked awake again.
He continued to struggle to stay awake, his eyelids drooping and opening again as Rollins detailed how $11 billion would be spent on her department’s new farmer aid program.
At this moment, Trump suddenly became furious, interrupted Rollins, and said: “This is $12 billion.”
The aging president visibly struggled with sleep during the roundtable, which was attended by Finance Minister Scott Bessant, Agriculture Minister Brooke Rawlings, farmers and members of Congress. /Alex Huang/Getty Images
Rawlings explained to the President that $11 billion would be used to provide one-time payments to farmers who grew crops by February next year, while another $1 billion would be used to pay for crops not included in the Farmers Bridge Assistance Programme.
“Ah, very tricky,” Trump responded with a laugh.
The 79-year-old’s history of nodding off in public — including a nap he took at an Oval Office event last month — has only heightened concerns about his mental and physical health. /Alex Huang/Alex Huang/Getty Images
Trump said at the roundtable that the funding would come from tariff revenue. Finance Minister Scott Bessent, 63, also attended the event, as well as farmers and MPs.
When reached for comment, White House Assistant Press Secretary Liz Houston told The Daily Beast in a statement, “The Daily Beast is a trash publication that spreads lies about President Trump every day.”
Scenes of Trump struggling with sleep have become a recurring scene during his second term, including at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump leaned back and closed his eyes as his secretaries took turns heaping praise on him. /X/Daily Beast
Cameras captured Trump repeatedly leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, shortly after he insisted he felt “sharper” than he had in decades.
“I’ll tell you when something goes wrong. One day it will,” he said. “It happens to all of us. But now, I think I’m sharper than I was 25 years ago, but who knows? I took my physical. I got all A’s, everything.”
The president’s public naps — including a nap during an Oval Office event last month — have only heightened concerns about his mental and physical health.
Trump, the oldest person ever to take office, is reportedly furious after a series of new reports targeted signs of a clear deterioration in his health.
