'Eyes Closed Were Closed For Extended Periods': Donald Trump Dozes Off in Court For the Third Time
Trump is still barred from speaking about prosecutors and court officials until his sentencing on July 11.
April 19 2024, Published 2:05 p.m. ET
For the third time, embattled ex-president Donald Trump was caught snoozing in court, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On Friday, The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported Trump, 77, fell asleep in court yet again while jury selections in his hush money case were underway.
Trump can now comment publicly about witnesses and jurors in the trial that led to his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
On Friday, after 12 jurors were selected and six alternate jurors were being considered, Haberman reported, "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again."
"It happened several times just now. His eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice," Haberman detailed in the live feed of proceedings.
NYT's Maggie Haberman reported Trump closing his eyes for 'extended periods' on Friday.
The 77-year-old's apparent inability to stay awake in court has been a highlighted issue during the first week of his criminal trial. The first instance of the ex-president dozing off occurred on Monday, the first day of the trial.
Haberman reported Trump "appeared to nod off a few times" with his mouth "going slack and his head drooping onto his chest."
While a Trump campaign spokesperson insisted, "This is 100% Fake News coming from ‘journalists’ who weren’t even in the court room," several other reporters present in court corroborated Haberman's reporting, according to CNN.
Another reporter recalled Trump 'falling asleep' on Tuesday before he 'jolted back up.'
The New York Times' Susanne Craig echoed Haberman's reporting during an interview with MSNBC, in which she recalled, "He looked like he was nodding off and at one point in a pretty true tell that he was falling asleep, his head nodded down and then he sort of jolted back up at one point."
Craig noted court had been in session for several hours when Trump "oscillated between being quite awake and asleep."
Trump appeared to fall asleep for a second time on Tuesday.
Law360's Frank Runyeon posted on X, "Trump’s head slowly dropped, his eyes closed. It jerked back upward. He adjusts himself. Then, his head droops again. He straightens up, leaning back. His head [droops] for a third time, he shakes his shoulders. Eyes closed still. His head drops. Finally, he pops his eyes open."
Opening statements in Trump's hush money case are expected to begin on Monday.
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Trump caught a break on Wednesday when court was not in session — and appeared to use the day to get some apparent much-needed sleep. There were no reports of the ex-president falling asleep on Thursday.
Nonetheless, multiple reports of Trump nodding off in court within the first week does not bode well for the presidential hopeful, especially considering his repeated attacks of President Joe Biden, who he's notably nicknamed "Sleepy Joe."
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