Transcription
There are so many alarming behaviors being normalized in the second era of Donald Trump and so few light-hearted moments in politics that it's tempting to watch video of Donald Trump seemingly falling asleep during a televised cabinet meeting this week and laugh. But we really should resist the temptation to laugh because this is not normal.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump held what's expected to be the last cabinet meeting of the year. To kick off the meeting, he talked for 32 minutes. 32 minutes of his greatest hits, the border and the fake news, the tariffs, the drug prices. Then he rattled on about weight loss drugs like Ozempic, which he has renamed, quote, "the fat drug." He bragged about restoring the White House bathrooms and about the beautiful Christmas wreaths that were picked out by the first lady. Then he started talking about his own health and stamina.
The president admonished the New York Times for its recent article, which laid out in detail how Trump has recently cut back his schedule and is showing signs of fatigue. Trump refuted that, saying, quote, "Right now, I think I'm sharper than I was 25 years ago." He added, referring to himself in the third person, quote, "Trump is sharp, but they're not sharp. They being the New York Times." He even made an obligatory reference to Sleepy Joe, the nick nickname that he bestowed upon Joe Biden. Sleepy Joe. And then this happened.
>> This war is going on and the president is trying to end it. Not because listen, we got a million things to focus on in the world as a country, but he's the only leader in the world that can help end it. And that's why we're that's why even as we speak to you now, uh Steve Woodoff is in Moscow trying to find a way to end this war to save lives of 8 9,000 people. Mr. President, as you know, are dying every week. >> Marco Rubio is better than taking an ambient.
That was just one moment from that meeting, by the way. Over the next hour and a half, Trump appeared to doze off during that cabinet meeting several times. While people were talking, while the cameras were focused on him, he seemed to be fighting off the midday slump and losing badly. This is not the only time in recent weeks that President Trump appeared to fall asleep during a public event. Just days after the cabinet meeting, Trump appeared to nod off again during a ceremony to mark the signing of a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And on November 6th, President Trump appeared to struggle to stay awake during a televised Oval Office announcement. The Washington Post analyzed video feeds of the event and found that Trump spent 20 minutes apparently battling to keep his eyes open at the appearance.
Now, in response to these literal president snoozefests, the White House always denies that he's actually sleeping. His allies point to his rigorous public schedule as evidence of his stamina. And for his part, Donald Trump is always calling back to those cognitive tests that he said he passed with flying colors. Person, woman, man, camera, TV. The administration is always deflecting to Biden, who was aging before our eyes at the end of the presidency. That's a fact. But it's also a fact that President Trump has dialed back his public appearances, shortened his schedule, and is certainly not presenting as the vigorous, sharp man that he claims to be.
According to a New York Times analysis of his schedule, quote, "Nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to." Mr. Trump has fewer public events on his schedule and is traveling domestically much less than he did by this point during his first year in office in 2017, although he is taking more foreign trips. He also keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to. Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5:00 p.m. on average.
Now, at the same time, the president and his team have been less than forthcoming with information about his health. The White House recently resisted releasing information about an MRI that Trump underwent. When Trump was asked about it, he said he had no idea which part of his body the MRI was conducted on, which is just weird. Eventually, the White House said it was a preventative MRI and that it came back quote perfectly normal. But that's really all we know. Trump has also got a history of providing embellished medical reports, mysterious visits to the hospital, and bruises on his hands covered up by makeup or band-aids.
Appearing to fall asleep at c cabinet meetings, nonsensical ramblings, vague explanations of doctor's visits and procedures is not normal. But Trump and the White House are trying to normalize it by brushing it off, by making excuses, by outright denying it. Trump falls asleep during public appearances and his team spins it as the result of lengthy working hours. Trump goes on long mindless rants and it's because he has a high IQ and aced a cognitive exam that apparently no one else in the world has ever aced. Trump has bruises on its hand his hands and it's from an aggressive amount of handshaking. This is not political spin. This is dangerous normalization.