California Governor Gavin Newsom ended the year how he spent it: trolling President Donald Trump.
The governor couldn’t let the year end without getting in a few final swipes at Trump, opting to highlight his tendency to fall asleep in public.
In the first post, Newsom responded to a post from Trump’s War Room account that featured two images: one of President Joe Biden’s signature, signed using an autopen, labeled ‘How 2025 started,’ and the second a portrait of Trump labeled ‘How 2025 ended.’
Newsom’s post used the same format but switched out the images, replacing Biden’s signature with a portrait of the man himself, and replacing Trump’s with a photo of him falling asleep.
In a second post, Newsom quoted a post from Sesame Street’s Elmo in which he reminded his followers, “Don’t forget to take a nap today! Elmo knows you’re going to need it!”
Tagging Trump’s account, Newsom wrote, “this one is for you.”
Trump has been caught seeming to doze off during several public appearances this year, including during press conferences at the White House and a Cabinet meeting.
While some of the president’s supporters have attempted to frame his propensity for cat naps during meetings as a positive—including one Fox News analyst who argued it was a sign of Trump’s bright mind—feelings behind the scenes seem to be significantly less optimistic.
According to Trump biographer Michael Wolff, the president’s daytime dozes are a source of significant stress for his aides, particularly because he blames them for letting him fall asleep.
“I mean, you can’t wake him up. Also, the cameras are running. Everybody is in a low-level panic now all of the time about Trump falling asleep because then he gets mad,” Wolff said on the Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head podcast. “He gets angry. He essentially blames the people around him for the fact that he fell asleep.”
The public is also concerned. According to a focus group of swing voters convened by Axios, the overwhelming majority had heard that the president has difficulty staying awake during meetings.
One independent voter felt that Trump was downplaying or hiding health issues, while another said that Trump was simply “too old” to be president.
In addition to his frequent naps, the president’s health issues have also been a major source of concern during the first year of his second term.
After declining to share the details of the president’s physical examination with the public, the White House eventually shared that he had undergone an MRI as a “preventative” measure, but only divulged this information after Trump himself blurted it out. However, medical experts immediately challenged the White House’s explanation, saying there was “nothing standard” about getting an MRI.
The president, who repeatedly highlighted Joe Biden’s age and health as proof that his predecessor was unfit for office, also spent much of the year with visible bruising—or makeup or bandages that partly hid the bruising—on his hands that the White House blamed on handshakes.
The president was also diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency in 2025, a condition common in older people that can cause leg swelling, a.k.a. cankles.
Trump’s mental health has also been a source of concern, with medical experts warning that his mental decline is accelerating and becoming increasingly obvious despite Trump boasting about acing multiple cognitive tests.
Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, has also voiced concerns about the impact his mental decline could have on his ability to lead.
“It goes without saying that Donald is a terrible leader, but one of the things that makes him a dangerous one is his incredible insecurity,” Mary, daughter of the president’s late brother Fred Trump Jr., said in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel.
“What seems to be happening is that he’s becoming more and more insecure over time,” she continued. “It seems the more he gets of what he thinks he wants—money, power, chaos—the more insecure and afraid he becomes.”
