The White House is fighting back against Donald Trump’s sleepy claims, but not in the way many expected. His communications team launched a social media campaign mocking journalists for falling asleep on air.
White House melts down after Donald Trump’s ‘sleepy’ moment surfaces
Donald Trump, who turns 80 in June, has appeared to be “sleepy” multiple times during White House events and public engagements. Most recently, cameras caught the president appearing to doze off at a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington Cemetery on Monday.
Rather than addressing the clips going viral online, the White House’s Rapid-Response account fired off roughly a dozen posts on X, all targeting journalists who had reported on or discussed Trump’s health.
Bloomberg reporter Jeff Mason was among the first hit. “Third-rate loser @jeffmason1 cannot seem to keep his eyes open as he speculates (lies) about President Trump’s perfect health. Not good,” they wrote, alongside a screenshot of Mason blinking.
CNN bore the brunt of the attacks. The White House targeted anchors Brianna Keilar, Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Kate Bolduan, and reporter Kevin Liptak in a rapid succession of posts. One read, “BRIANNA KEILAR SAYS NAP WENT ‘PERFECTLY’ AFTER FALLING ASLEEP LIVE ON AIR.” Another went after Tapper, “FLASHBACK: FAKE TAPPER APPEARS TO DOZE OFF THROUGHOUT HIS ‘SHOW’.”
This response fits a pattern of the team’s usually fiery responses, along with White House continuously declining to acknowledge that the president has been caught sleeping in their official statements.
Moreover, the PR blitz coincided with Donald Trump’s Tuesday visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland — his fourth physical since returning to office. Trump later posted on Truth Social: “Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY. Thank you to the great Doctors and Staff! Heading back to the White House.”
However, the White House has not yet released an official medical report, leaving the full results of the examination unknown.
