President Donald Trump struggled to keep his eyes open as the names of victims of the September 11 attacks were read during a poignant memorial service.
The 80-year-old president’s eyes closed for extended periods, and his head rocked back and forth as he sat on stage at the Pentagon, where he and first lady Melania Trump attended a service on the 25th anniversary of the terror attack.
Clips of the president dozing quickly went viral online.
“A Sleepy Donald Trump has decided to take a nap at the Pentagon Ceremony,” read one viral post.
Another read, “Utterly embarrassing.. Guy can’t even keep his eyes open at the 9/11 ceremony.”
The president’s eyelids appeared to grow heavy as the names of victims were read one by one, followed by the ringing of a bell. He also appeared sleepy as a choir performed.
Trump has had a taxing week. He flew to Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday to speak back-to-back nights at his MAGA Fyre Fest convention that drew fewer eyeballs than a typical night of cable news. Trump rambled for about 106 minutes in his first speech, wrapping up around 11 p.m. EST. He was up early the following morning, posting to Truth Social at 6:54 a.m. Thursday.
The president delivered a second speech to a less-than-full arena later that night, which did not conclude until after 11 p.m. EST. He then flew back to Washington and arrived at the Pentagon with Melania before 9 a.m. Friday morning.
Trump made headlines at last year’s Sept. 11 memorial, too, when his face appeared noticeably droopy.
Despite struggling to stay awake on Friday, Trump eventually spoke at the memorial. He used his speech to justify his war with Iran.
“We will never, ever forget,” Trump said. “That’s why we fight today—we don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.
He later added that the U.S. will “ensure the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never have a nuclear weapon.”
