It was a lengthy White House Cabinet meeting, and it looked like US President Donald Trump struggled to keep up with it on Tuesday. At the start of the session, Trump defended his health and stamina, claiming he was “sharper than I was 25 years ago” while criticising a New York Times report suggesting the 79-year-old slowed down during his second term.
“Trump is sharp, but they're not sharp,” he said, rebuking reporters for what he called unfair coverage of his health. “You people are crazy,” he added.
Then, over the next two hours, Trump appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open. Video footage showed him occasionally closing his eyes and seemingly nodding off while cabinet officials described their work.
The president's fatigue became noticeable about 15 minutes into the meeting.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised Trump's trade wars.
The president's blink rate slowed as Housing Secretary Scott Turner and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke. The apparent struggle continued through remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. By the time Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. addressed the room, Trump appeared frozen with his eyes closed for 10 to 15 seconds at a time, occasionally moving his eyes or giving a nod.
This persisted during Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments praising Trump's efforts to end wars, with the president seated right next to Rubio as cameras zoomed in. When Rubio cracked a joke, Trump's reaction, if any, was minimal.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later defended Trump, saying that he was “listening attentively and running the entire meeting.
She cited his responses during a question-and-answer segment at the end, including a tirade against Somali immigrants, as evidence of his engagement.
“This epic moment put an exclamation point on President Trump's ninth cabinet meeting of his second term, all of which have been entirely open to the press for the whole world to see,” she said.
In recent weeks, Trump's health has once again drawn public attention. In July, the White House disclosed he was diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), a relatively common, non‑life‑threatening vascular condition that can cause leg swelling and discomfort when veins fail to efficiently return blood to the heart.
Then, in October, Trump underwent a preventive medical evaluation. According to his physician, the results were “perfectly normal,” with no signs of arterial disease or organ dysfunction. The White House said he remains in “excellent overall health.”
