MAGA influencers have joined in on the White House’s defensive reaction to Donald Trump’s latest health test.
The president, who turns 80 in less than three weeks, underwent a three-hour physical assessment at Walter Reed Medical Center on Tuesday.
It was his fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term. While no information from the latest test has been released, Trump posted on Truth Social after his assessment that “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.”
On Tuesday, the White House’s official Rapid Response 47 X account made 10 posts featuring reporters, mainly from CNN, accusing them of falling asleep on air. It follows coverage of Trump seemingly nodding off on the job.
The hosts targeted by the White House appear to have been caught mid-blink, with their eyes closed. Most were reporting on Trump’s latest medical test.
The posts repeated language used to criticize Trump’s age and stamina, while asking in one, “what are they hiding about their health.”
The posts were quickly seized on by MAGA influencers, who, in some instances, found their own examples.
Kaelan Dorr, the deputy assistant to the president, shared Rapid Response’s clip of CNN host Kate Bolduan covering Trump arriving at Walter Reed.
Commenting on her eyes being briefly closed in the four-second clip, Dorr wrote “Sleepy Kate!!!”
However a longer clip of the interview provides more context, showing Bolduan appearing to be looking down at her notes, before blinking.
Conservative comedian Tim Young shared the White House’s post of CNN host Jake Tapper mid-blink, with the caption, “Jake Tapper is even bored by Jake Tapper.”
Associate Editor for conservative media watchdog The Media Research Center, Nicholas Fondacaro, got in on the action when he posted a still image of one of The View’s co-hosts with the caption “Joy Behar (83) fell asleep during today’s episode of The View.”
That was dutifully shared by the Rapid Response account, adding “Wow! Poor health?”
Fondacaro also posted a similar closed-eye photo of another co-host of The View with the caption “Sunny Hostin looks mean when she’s sleeping on-air.”
He also posted another shot he claimed was Tapper falling “asleep live-on air.”
MAGA account The Patriot Oasis also got in on the trend, sharing a photo of Democrat Senator Mark Warner being interviewed on MS Now’s Katy Tur Reports where they are both apparently mid-blink.
The account said the pair “fell asleep live on Fake News MSNOW. Democrats are having a tough time coming off an extended Memorial Day weekend.”
CNN host Dana Bash was also included in the Rapid Response round-up. Its image of her featured the CNN ticker, “TRUMP GETS ANNUAL PHYSICAL AHEAD OF 80TH BIRTHDAY NEXT MONTH.”
With a photo of her eyes closed, the White House account wrote @DanaBashCNN FALLS ASLEEP AHEAD OF HER 55TH BIRTHDAY NEXT MONTH. WHAT IS GOING ON?”
Bash found the humor in the claims and shared the Rapid Response post on her X account. “If only! Thanks for watching,” she wrote.
The Daily Beast has contacted CNN and MS NOW for comment.
