Several reporters in attendance at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial shared on the air and social media that for the second day in a row, Trump fell asleep in court.
CNN contributor Norm Eisen tweeted on Tuesday: “Trump is asleep again” at nearly 11:00 AM. And his account was corroborated by others on site. During an on air hit in the 10 a.m. hour, MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian passed along contributor Lisa Rubin’s observation of Trump as having his eyes closed and “leaning to the left.”
Law360’s Frank G. Runyeon had a detailed play-by-play of Trump allegedly dozing off. On Twitter/X, he wrote: “Trump’s head slowly dropped, his eyes closed. It jerked back upward. He adjusts himself. Then, his head droops again. He straightens up, leaning back. His head [droops] for a third time, he shakes his shoulders. Eyes closed still. His head drops. Finally, he pops his eyes open.”
Maggie Haberman’s report on Monday that Trump was nodding off became a huge source for mockery from the media and from the campaign of President Joe Biden. Trump himself was unhappy about the coverage and Haberman confirmed that the former president “glared” at her when he found out about her reporting. Even so, Trump’s campaign is pushing for a lot of media coverage of the trial, according to CNN, and putting several Trump surrogates on the air to defend the defendant.
By the end of the first day, Trump railed against the “scam trial” and Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the first criminal trial of a former president.
