Donald Trump has sparked fresh health concerns after appearing "sleepy" during a live press conference held at the White House on Monday (29 September). Sharing a clip from Trump's latest sit-down appearance in the Oval Office, journalist Aaron Rupar noted that Trump's eyes seemed to be "getting very heavy" as he listened to those around him, a statement that others agreed with on X.
"Oh, look, sleepy Don is at it again," replied one. "Look at his mouth. He is out," tweeted a second. "And please note the facial twitches too," pointed out a third. Meanwhile, a fourth declared, "Holy s**t, this is the sleepiest he's ever looked".
Previous incidents and medical opinions
Trump, 80, has been accused of falling asleep in several meetings and during high-profile engagements. Earlier this month, the President came under fire for apparently dozing off in footage and photos taken at a 9/11 memorial held at the Pentagon.
While the President and his team have repeatedly declared that he is in "excellent" health, both physically and cognitively, a number of medical professionals have argued otherwise. Among them, Dr Bandy Lee, a forensic and social psychiatrist who has taught at both Harvard and Yale, has stated that Trump has been exhibiting "abnormal and pathological" behaviour.
Expert commentary
Referencing the US leader's claims that he was carried away by firefighters after the Twin Towers collapsed, Lee told Meidas Touch: "The degree for which [he has to place himself at the centre of] every significant event in national history and every significant monument in the nation has to bear his name, all of this goes back to just how fragile he is in his sense of self."
"This is normally what toddlers do," she continued. "They have to be king or queen or ruler of the universe in order to fight the feeling that they are quite helpless and dependent on others' care. But of course, that's normal for a two or three-year-old. It is abnormal and pathological when it involves a fully grown adult."
Lee warned that Trump is "an incredibly mentally unstable individual who's become far more unstable with time, with more power he's given and the less he is constrained".
Dr Frita McRae Fisher, a medical expert and quadruple board-certified doctor, is equally concerned. "If I had someone who exhibited behaviours like President Trump, first, I would take a full history, I would ask about memory, and I would certainly request some imaging of the brain," she said on The Don Lemon Show.
"I would do an in-depth mental evaluation to see if there are signs of Alzheimer's or Lewy body dementia." Reflecting on Trump's widely disputed claims about being taken away from the Twin Towers, Fisher explained that people with Lewy body dementia "have actually had active hallucinations, for example, that they were picked up by two big strong firemen on 9/11 when they weren't."
However, there is currently no evidence Trump is suffering from the condition, and no diagnosis has been made public or emerged from official sources.
