'Remember Sleepy Joe?': 'Morning Joe' Hosts Troll Trump Admin's Excuse Saying Prez Was 'Blinking' During Oval Office Event — Amid Speculation He 'Fell Asleep'
'Morning Joe' hosts mocked the White House's explanation for Trump appearing to close his eyes during an Oval Office event.
May 12 2026, Published 4:56 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump found himself at the center of fresh mockery after the White House insisted he was merely "blinking" during an Oval Office event that sparked speculation he had fallen asleep, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Hosts on Morning Joe quickly seized on the explanation, turning it into an extended on-air joke.
White House Snaps Over Viral Photo
Joe Scarborough joked Trump's 'blink' lasted unusually long as footage replayed on-air.
The controversy began after Reuters national security correspondent Idrees Ali posted a photograph showing Trump with his eyes closed during a maternal health event inside the Oval Office.
Although Ali never directly claimed the president had been sleeping, the White House Rapid Response account fired back aggressively, writing: "He was blinking, you absolute moron."
Mika Brzezinski said Trump appeared to be 'resting his eyes multiple times' during the event.
'That's the Longest Blink I've Ever Seen'
Jonathan Lemire quipped it was 'the longest blink' he had ever seen.
Opening Tuesday's show, Mika Brzezinski noted Trump "appeared to be resting his eyes multiple times" during the event, per Mediaite.
Her co-host Joe Scarborough quickly laughed: "That's a very long blink!"
"That's the longest blink I've ever seen," Jonathan Lemire added as the footage replayed.
Scarborough continued joking while the clip rolled again, quipping: "Still blinking!"
Brzezinski piled on by adding: "Not a lot of rights and access to health care to talk about, so maybe he fell asleep?"
Hosts Revive 'Sleepy Joe' Attacks
Scarborough compared the moment to past Republican attacks branding Joe Biden 'Sleepy Joe.'
Scarborough later pointed to Trump's past criticism of former President Joe Biden, recalling how conservatives repeatedly mocked Biden with the nickname "Sleepy Joe."
"You know, the thing is, everybody's entitled to sleep," Scarborough said. "But you remember Sleepy Joe?"
Both Brzezinski and Lemire said they did.
Referencing a moment when Biden briefly closed his eyes during a memorial service in Hawaii, Scarborough continued: "'Sleepy Joe, Sleepy Joe.' Trump's people just went absolutely crazy."
Speaking about Trump, he added: "This isn't the first time he's appeared to be taking a catnap in the Oval Office."
"You can't just go on and on and on about Sleepy Joe, Sleepy Joe, Sleepy Joe, and then sleep even more in the White House than your predecessor did," Scarborough said.
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Social Media Critics Join the Pile-On
Social media users flooded X with mocking comments after the 'Morning Joe' segment aired.
The segment quickly sparked a wave of reactions online, with several users accusing the media and political commentators of applying different standards to Trump and Biden.
One critic wrote: "I simply cannot believe I live in a timeline where journalists helped force the last president out of his reelection campaign for being too old, so the country put an unstable 79-year-old who falls asleep constantly in office, and none of the same journalists care at all."
Another commenter added: "Yup! I saw it too!! He falls asleep every time now! This sleepy b---- can no longer talk about Joe! Trump is beating Joe's record!!"
