Donald Trump 'falls asleep' again within minutes of arriving at court

You’d think that having already been ridiculed for “falling asleep” in court, Donald Trump would have dosed up on caffeine.

But it appears that the self-styled Diet Coke addict failed to get his morning pick-me-up ahead of this historic day.

On Monday (22 April) a 12-person jury in New York, will hear the opening statements in the first of four criminal cases against the MAGA commander-in-chief.

He is now the first former president ever to stand trial on criminal charges and faces the prospect, if he loses, of becoming the first major American presidential candidate in history to run as a convicted felon.

And whilst the world may be watching on with open mouths and open eyes, the same can’t be said for the notorious orange-hued defendant.

Within minutes of arriving at the Manhattan court, Trump apparently started to nod off.

Trump apparently had to be woken up by a nudge from his lawyer ahead of the opening statements(AP)

New York Times reporter Susanne Craig wrote on the paper’s liveblog of the trial at around 10am local time (3pm UK time): “Trump is struggling to stay awake.

“His eyes were closed for a short period. He was jolted awake when Todd Blanche, his lawyer, nudged him while sliding a note in front of him.”

The observation will come as little surprise to many commentators, one of whom wrote on X/Twitter ahead of his appearance in court: “Trump stayed up past midnight last night (12:05 am) on a ‘court night’ posting to Truth Social.

“There is no way he’s not falling asleep today during opening statements.”

The alleged hiccup comes a week after Craig's NYT colleague, Maggie Haberman, reported: “Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”

Her assessment was corroborated by other reporters, with The Times's Will Pavia writing of the moment: "We see him sitting very still in his chair. We see his eyes close. Then he does not move for some time."

Trump addresses reporters as he arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on 22 April(AP)

If we were in the presidential hopeful's position – facing 34 felony counts – we imagine we'd be a little more alert.

The charges, issued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, relate to the claims that the presumed Republican nominee falsified business accounts to hide hush money paid to former adult star Stormy Daniels during his first bid to become president in 2016.

The trial is expected to last at least six weeks and Trump is required to attend every day court is in session — a schedule that will dramatically hamper his ability to campaign in battleground states.

The 77-year-old is well aware of this perceived injustice, and so kicked off the day's trial by kicking off.

Before heading into the courtroom, Trump addressed a camera in the hallway, fuming that it is “unfair” he has to be there, rather than out campaigning.

He once again cast the trial as a “witch hunt” and a “sham” aimed at damaging his campaign.

“I’m here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning and it’s very unfair,” he said.

At least he doesn't appear to be losing any sleep over it, eh?

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