Donald Trump, who loves to dominate his rivals by mocking them with ridiculous nicknames, now is on the receiving end of the fun. Though he’s probably not laughing.
“Sleepy Joe” was one of his most successful inventions during the 2020 campaign, but now, after having fallen asleep numerous times during the ongoing “hush money” trial in New York, he is being taunted as “Sleepy Don”. Memes with “the Don” peacefully snoozing wearing a nightcap have made the rounds on social media.
Today he provided more fuel for late night talk show hosts who have been having a field day. His attorney Todd Blanche, had to gently shake him awake at the crucial moment when the jury broke for deliberations. New York Daily News court reporter Molly Crane-Newman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Todd Blanche appeared to gently shake Trump awake, nudging his shoulder, as the six alternates filed out of the courtroom, and he was the only person still sitting down.”
Courtroom reporters have stated that Trump has fallen asleep many times during the criminal trial. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times said early in the trial that Trump’s head “kept dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”
Not surprisingly, even with eyewitnesses to confirm it, Trump has countered such claims, saying on Truth Social in one instance: “I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!”
The case is now in the hands of the 12-person jury, which began late Wednesday morning to deliberate the 34 felony charges against him.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. He has denied having any such encounter with Daniels and pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek on Wednesday afternoon that the trial’s outcome is hard to predict, and many others agree with her, not because they are convinced of Trump’s innocence but because the charges are murky and as his supporters claim, “nobody knows what the crime is that he was supposed to have committed”. Others claim that it was a “crime with no victims,” or that “nobody got hurt.”
Rahmani said it’s clear that the business records were false and did not show a legal expense, but it will be difficult to determine his purpose in paying Daniels.
“Anyone who is trying to predict this particular case is lying,” Rahmani said. “I don’t think anyone knows what these 12 jurors are going to do. There are just way too many unknowns.”
Trump himself has complained, “I don’t even know what the charges are in this rigged case—I am entitled to specificity just like anyone else,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There is no crime!”
It remains to be seen whether he can stay awake once the jury announces their verdict.
