A moment of viral somnolence for Trump alongside Saudi Arabia’s crown prince

The start of this four-day trip to the Middle East is already looking testing for the President of the United States, who began his tour in Saudi Arabia, welcomed by Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salmane.

Trump is having a hard time keeping his eyes open in Saudi Arabia

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-13T13:22:00.909Z

As the two men sat and traded during a bilateral meeting at the Saudi royal palace, the cameras caught an unexpected moment.

Donald Trump appears drowsy for several minutes, visibly fighting sleep.

The images of the president, who will turn 79 in June, showing him on the verge of dozing off, his head sometimes falling forward, sometimes backward, or struggling to open his little eyes, quickly set social networks ablaze.

Many were quick to point out the irony of the scene, recalling that Trump once referred to Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe”.

For others, this episode adds to a series of similar moments seen over the last few months.

Donald Trump has indeed been filmed dozing off at Pope Francis’ funeral, at the Republican convention, during several of his judicial hearings, as well as at various cabinet meetings.

This content was created with the help of AI.