On multiple occasions during his latest trial, Donald Trump has been seen dozing off in court — and there are numerous theories about why.
This week, reporters witnessed at least three occasions — including one today — on which the former president and presumptive GOP nominee fell asleep on the bench and jolted awake moments later in the midst of his criminal trial, in which it's alleged that he suppressed information about paying off porn star Stormy Daniels, née Stephanie Clifford, with whom he had an affair.
Falling asleep in court once is funny enough, but having it happen over and over suggests a pattern. As longtime political reporter Marc Caputo quipped on X-formerly-Twitter, it may have something to do with Trump's known Diet Coke habit.
"Unable to speak when he wants and lacking a steady stream of Diet Coke, his favorite drink served to him constantly by staff at Mar-a-Lago, a decaffeinated Trump is now on Sleep Watch by the nation’s media in court," Caputo joked.
Indeed, as the New York Times reported back in 2017, the ex-president was said to drink a whopping 12 Diet Cokes per day. With court rules banning him — and everyone else — from indulging in food or drink in the courtroom, Trump has been without his fix, which could well be why he's so drowsy. Though as the website for New York State's unified court system stipulates, sleeping is also prohibited.
While it's clear something is making Trump sleepy, there could, as one expert told The Daily Beast, be brain science reasons behind his fatigued presence.
"Anytime we fall asleep in a stressful situation, those are indications that your brain is prioritizing it," neurologist and sleep expert Chris Winter told the site. "We live in a society where an individual who is able to fall asleep quickly and anywhere is a great sleeper. But someone who is able to fall asleep in jury selection is really someone who is at great risk and not an excellent sleeper."
To the specialist's mind, Trump's issue is obvious: "He has something wrong with the nature of his sleep."
To be fair, the first time the onetime president fell asleep was during jury selection, a famously dull process — and one that may have failed to capture the attention of the infamously unfocused Trump.
"He might not have found jury selection stimulating enough to keep him awake," Winter said. "That indicates an issue in sleep amount or quantity. Even if he is getting enough sleep, there is something wrong with the quality of it."
Be that as it may, it was a pretty outrageous spectacle even for the man who once called a football player a "son of a bitch" from the presidential pulpit — and serves as an unfortunate reminder of what may be to come in November and beyond, as both parties' candidates are the oldest in history.
More on sleep (or lack thereof): Vaping Linked to Mental Health Issues
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