Many journalists have reported that Donald Trump is falling asleep during his criminal hush money trial in Manhattan, but the former president vehemently denies those claims. Trump, a known liar, is far less reputable than the well-known news outlets covering the case. It is incredibly disrespectful to the judge, attorneys on both sides, the jurors, and court staff to fall asleep; if the jury must stay awake, so should the defendant. Trump took to his social media platform like a second grader who was caught napping during class by his teacher with a lame excuse. He’s just resting his eyes so that he can focus, right?
“Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today,” Trump, 77, wrote on Truth Social during a break in the trial on Thursday, “I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” His campaign previously lashed out after multiple reporters in the courtroom, including The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman, reported on the first day of jury selection that Trump seemed to doze off a few times. Trump has appeared to be sleeping in court on numerous other occasions during the trial, which entered its 10th day Thursday. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Trump’s “eyes were closed for extended periods and his head at times jerked in a way consistent with sleeping.”
Imagine not caring about your criminal trial to the point that you fall asleep during proceedings. It is clear that Trump is downplaying the severity of the case and expects to win, therefore he is allowed to nap while carefully selected jurors take time out of their lives to decide his fate. Jurors are cut off from the rest of the world, prevented from using the Internet, forbidden from talking to anyone including friends and family, and forced to take time off work. For many, the payment for sitting on a jury is minuscule compared to their salaries; they are actively losing money to sit on Trump’s trial.
It is one thing to believe that your trial is a sham or “witch hunt,” but the least you can do as a defendant is stay awake and pay attention.
