President Trump appeared to fall asleep at his Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Cabinet meeting, the day after his annual exam at Walter Reed, his third checkup in 13 months (see Trump, About to Turn 80, Heads to Walter Reed for His Third Checkup in 13 Months as Prior 'MRI' Was Quietly Corrected to a Cardiac CT). The New Republic reported that Trump could be seen with his eyes closed for a prolonged period while sitting next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and seemed to struggle to keep them open while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke. Photos posted by commentator Aaron Rupar circulated widely. Hindustan Times noted that the available footage was inconclusive and did not establish whether Trump was asleep, blinking or resting his eyes.
The New Republic counted it as at least the eighth time this year Trump had appeared to fall asleep on camera. After the Walter Reed visit, Trump said his physical “checked out PERFECTLY.” The White House has rejected such episodes: its Rapid Response account spent the day before the meeting posting images of journalists with their eyes closed, and has said Trump was simply “blinking” in earlier clips. Trump has said he sometimes closes his eyes because it is “very relaxing,” and after a December Cabinet meeting said, “I didn't sleep, I just closed them.” CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner has said Trump shows signs of “severe daytime somnolence.”
The meeting had been called amid the faltering Iran ceasefire (see Trump Summons Entire Cabinet Over the Crumbling Iran Ceasefire After U.S. Strikes Hit Iran Hours Into Qatar Peace Talks); the same day, the New York Times published an analysis of earlier Cabinet meetings (see NYT Analysis of 12 Hours of Cabinet Footage Finds One in Six Sentences Is Trump Flattery, Credit-to-Trump, or an Attack on Biden). Trump turns 80 on June 14 and would be only the second president to serve at 80, after Joe Biden.
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry said the meeting took place hours after the Walter Reed checkup; the exam was on May 26, the day before. It said the White House had not addressed the episode; the White House has repeatedly disputed such claims, calling them blinking. It described the meeting as the subject of the New York Times flattery analysis, which covered earlier meetings. Claims that a physician had called Trump's cardiovascular health “excellent” before the meeting, that he is the second-oldest president, and that FactPost captured the video were not supported by the sources and were removed, along with a link to an X profile page that was not a citation.