Jordan Klepper went after President Donald Trump on The Daily Show, ridiculing what it called a bizarre explanation for appearing to fall asleep on the job.
President Trump, the nation’s oldest elected president, appeared to doze off during a maternal healthcare event at the White House on Tuesday.
During the event, he could be seen with his eyes closed at the Resolute Desk while administration officials stood behind him.
“Our nation’s Commander-in-Sleep,” the Democrats’ account wrote in response to the footage.
Klepper poked fun at the moment on Tuesday.
“Don’t judge. This man is exhausted from working the graveyard shift at his second job, posting insane AI slop all night. It’s important. thankless work,” he said.
The White House furiously denied that Trump was asleep during the meeting.
After a Reuters reporter posted the image of Trump with his eyes closed without alleging that he was asleep, the Rapid Response 47 account—set up to push back on claims it labels as “fake news”—swiftly responded.
“He was blinking, you absolute moron,” it said.
Klepper clapped back: “Look. You know what? I can relate. I got a solid eight hours of blink last night. I mean, come on. And don’t you hate when you’re blinking and you have to get up and go pee? You have to try and get back to blink, you know. It’s a nightmare.”
Klepper also joked that Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel had “split up blinking duties.”
“You know what? I think I see what’s going on here. Trump and Kash Patel have split up blinking duties. One keeps them shut, and one keeps them fully open. It’s government efficiency at work. But look, let’s not get carried away here.”
Klepper then joked: “Yes, Trump is falling asleep in the middle of meetings. But he’s not as bad as Joe Biden, OK. Remember Sleepy Joe?”—a reference to Trump’s long-used nickname for President Biden to question his alertness in office.
“He was snoozing while inflation just skyrocketed. This is completely different,” Klepper added.
Trump, 79, has repeatedly criticized his predecessor’s handling of the economy, linking him to what he described as “the worst inflation in history.”
“He was sleeping while you were working. He was sleeping while you were trying to get a job,” Trump said of Biden during a speech in February.
But inflation has also rocketed under Trump amid his deeply unpopular war with Iran, which has seen energy prices spike while the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.
As a result, inflation surged to 3.8 percent in April, the highest level in nearly three years.
Klepper suggested Trump and his predecessor may not be so different after all.
“Well well, well, looks like the Sleepy Joe-er has become the Sleepy Joe-ee,” he said.
Tuesday’s event was not the first time Trump has appeared to fall asleep during an event.
In July 2025, he was spotted appearing drowsy during remarks by Medicare administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on healthcare policy.
Earlier, in May of the previous year, he was seen with his eyes closed and mouth open during testimony from a key witness in his hush money trial.
Despite such moments, he told a cabinet meeting in December that he was “sharper than he was in the year 2000,” even as he was later observed struggling to keep his eyes open while officials spoke.
Just last week, the president appeared to slip into a heavy-eyed daze during a Tuesday Oval Office proclamation signing to restore the Presidential Fitness Test in schools.
Trump has previously brushed off concerns about his attentiveness, saying he sometimes closes his eyes during meetings because he finds it “very relaxing.”
