The president was nearly lulled to sleep by a long-winded speech by his Cabinet member.
President Donald Trump, 79, shut his eyes for long periods as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin droned on about the Clean Air Act during a Thursday afternoon news conference, but still nodded and at times jolted his eyes open.
After Zeldin, 46, finally finished, Trump took to the podium and said, “That was long.”
Zeldin, a former GOP lawmaker from New York, grimaced and then awkwardly smiled after the president complained about the length of his eight-minute speech. After some muted laughs from the press, Trump went on to say that the speech was “great” and that he appreciated it.
Trump’s public eye resting—as he has described it—during public events is becoming increasingly common. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that his staff has privately pleaded with him to keep his eyes open and not draw attention to the fact that he is months away from becoming an octogenarian.
Publicly, the White House has said that Trump closes his eyes because it is a “listening mechanism” of his.
Trump has brushed off the dozing as a non-issue, saying he is simply bored—especially during his marathon Cabinet meetings where secretaries rarely discuss substance and instead take turns sucking up to him.
“The last time we had a press conference, it lasted for three hours, and some people said he closed his eyes,” Trump said last month. “Look, it got pretty boring.”
The president’s age is showing beyond just his repeated shut-eye moments.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared to experience a system malfunction during a self-indulgent speech.
“I’m proud to officially name the undisput...” he began before mumbling incoherently.
He continued, “When did this come out? Mr. Speaker,” he said, before appearing to remember his lines and getting back on track. “The undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal... We have to proceed, always—don’t use the word coal, you know, it needs a PR job.”
The president’s physical condition also appears to be declining—something the Daily Beast has led the way in documenting since the beginning of his second term.
Trump has sported nasty bruises on both of his hands, severely swollen ankles, and has visibly struggled going up and down stairs, and even just walking in a straight line. At Thursday’s event, makeup was again visibly caked onto his hand.
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. While the deranged and failing Daily Beast has their lightweight, glue-sniffing ‘reporters’ push baseless conspiracy theories — President Trump spent the day cutting burdensome red tape, lowering costs, and putting the American people first.”
