Trump sparks hilarity on Twitter as he appears to fall asleep during trial

While the rest of the world can't look away as Donald Trump's historic criminal trial begins in New York, the former president himself seems far less enthusiastic about the proceedings.

Jury selection began Monday in the first-ever criminal trial of a sitting or former president, who is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

However, according to some court reporters, Mr. Trump appeared to have a hard time keeping his eyes open — and at one point he may have even fallen asleep.

“Trump seems to be sleeping. His head keeps drooping and his mouth goes slack.” New York Times Reporter Maggie Haberman reported.

The observation quickly inspired a new nickname for the 77-year-old former president: “Sleepy Don.”

Soon the nickname spread like wildfire on social media.

“My theory: Trump's legal team sedated him” Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn wrote on X

“Looks like he’s old. “The judge is stopping Sleepy Don from his nap,” said Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski Posted.

The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC, wrote that Mr. Trump had exhausted himself with his Truth Social rants after the trial.

“#SleepyDon “I was up late posting angry posts on Truth Social,” the account wrote.

The former president's apparent nap in the courtroom eventually became trending on X, and users flocked there the hashtag #DonSnorleonean allusion to the mafia boss Don Corleone from the Godfather Series. Others chose a different pun for Mr. Trump: The Nodfather.

Several other social media users joined in on the joke.

“I prefer presidents who don't fall asleep before lunch on the hush money they received for a porn star election interference lawsuit,” said one user. mocked.

“If Sleepy Don has too little energy to stay awake on the first day of his criminal trial, does he even have the stamina to become president?” another wrote.

“'Sleepy Joe' is [a] Projection, like everything else,” according to the Republican Voters Against Trump report. Posted.

Others joked with one person about Trump ally Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow tweet: “Where’s the My Pillow guy when you need him?”

“A special counsel just showed up at the Trump trial,” another Postedalong with a picture of Mr. Lindell.

The nickname comes after Trump proudly referred to his 2024 rival, 81-year-old Joe Biden, as “Sleepy Joe” ahead of the 2024 election. Now the former president himself has a tired, lethargic label.

Mr. Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records over so-called hush money payments before the 2016 election to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for silence about an alleged affair.

She claims the affair took place in 2006 – just a year after Mr Trump married his now wife Melania.

Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On CNN, Ms. Haberman also noted that it wasn't necessarily out of character for Mr. Trump to fall asleep in the middle of a trial.

“There were other moments in other trials, such as the trial of E. Jean Carroll … where he seemed very quiet and seemed like he was sleeping,” she said.

“His jaw kept dropping to his chest and his mouth kept going slack,” she continued.

Although one sometimes falls asleep during a trial, “given the intensity” of the trial, “that is remarkable,” she said.

The Biden-Harris Campaign retweeted the clip of Haberman speaking on CNN.

The Trump campaign later vehemently denied rumors of the former president's brief court nap, saying in a statement: “This is 100% fake news from 'journalists' who weren't even in the courtroom.”