Inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, aides describe it as a constant ālow-level panic.ā Not about policy. Not about strategy. About one thing: Donald Trump falling asleep on camera.

War is raging abroad, allies are openly calling the United States a security risk, the economy is wobbling ā and yet, one of the White Houseās most immediate fears is whether the president will nod off in the middle of a televised meeting and embarrass the country⦠again.
It used to be simple. In his first term, when Trump got bored, heād just stand up and leave. Now, staffers say, itās different. He doesnāt storm out ā he drifts off. On live TV.

According to longtime Trump chronicler Michael Wolff, aides have turned into full-time nap spotters. They watch the signs come on like a slow-motion crash: his features go slack, his posture loosens, his head starts to tilt. Eyes blink slower⦠then shut. And everyone around him silently panics, because they canāt shake him awake without causing an international incident ā and they know that when he jolts back to consciousness, heāll blame them for letting it happen.
Meanwhile, America sees the same man who mocked āSleepy Joeā now fighting off sleep in high-stakes moments, while senators like Marco Rubio literally raise their voices mid-briefing to try to keep the president conscious.
Layered on top of this are the mysterious bandages and bruises on Trumpās hands ā spotted repeatedly as he shuffles between events. Press secretary Caroline Leavitt brushes it off as ājust handshakesā and a daily aspirin regimen, insisting heās in āgreat healthā and working so hard it shows physically. But when asked basic questions ā like when his cognitive tests took place or why he recently needed an MRI at Walter Reed ā she has no answers, promising theyāll āclarify laterā while Trump himself just declares the results āperfect.ā

Behind the scenes, staffers describe a ticking clock: late-night rage-posting, little sleep, visible fatigue, unexplained tests, and a president furious at anyone who dares acknowledge what everyone can see.
And unlike past presidents, Trump canāt hide behind performance. The economy is not bailing him out. Farmers are hurting from his trade wars. Voters are watching grocery bills and medical costs soar. Polls show most Americans think the economy is in bad shape ā and blame Trump for it.

Democrats are flipping seats in places Republicans once thought safe. Miami goes blue for the first time in generations. Georgia districts turn. In special elections across the country, Republicans have flipped zero Democratic seats in 2025, while Democrats rack up win after win.
So when Trump slurs through rallies claiming tariffs are āmaking farmers rich,ā or that people should stop complaining and āgive up a few pencils,ā even some of his own supporters are starting to roll their eyes. Focus groups of former Biden voters who switched to Trump now admit theyāve heard whispers about his health, his napping, his fading stamina. Some quietly wonder what else heās hiding.

This is the part that terrifies his inner circle: the decline isnāt only physical. Itās political. A president dozing through meetings, rambling about perfect MRIs, and snapping at aides while the economy buckles and allies lose faith isnāt a strongman.
He looks like a man losing his grip ā on the job, on the moment, and on the story heās tried so hard to sell.
And the more Americans watch him drifting off on camera, the more theyāre asking a brutal question:
If he canāt stay awake for the job, why should he keep it?
Leave a Reply