Timeline

April 15 Trump appeared to doze off on the first day of jury selection in the hush money case, where Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, according to reporters in the Manhattan courtroom, who said they observed Trump lean back in his chair with his eyes closed before jolting back awake after his attorneys passed him notes.

April 16 The very next day, Trump dropped his head inside the courtroom, keeping his eyes closed before jolting his head upright, drooping it again, jerking up, and slouching for a third time, according to Law360.

April 19 Trump’s eyes remained “closed for extended periods” during the final day of jury selection, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, just before the full 12-member jury and alternates were officially empaneled, following an exhaustive selection process involving rounds of questioning over potential bias.

April 22 Before opening statements began, Trump seemed to be “struggling to stay awake,” according to New York Times reporter Susanne Craig,” though he appeared to wake up after a nudge from his attorney Todd Blanche.

April 30 Trump appeared to nod off for “significant portions” of witness testimony, Haberman reported, while NBC news reporters noted Trump occasionally “jerked” his head up “in a way consistent with sleeping,” including during his attorneys’ cross-examination of witness Gary Farro, a banker who worked for Cohen.

May 9 As former adult film star Stormy Daniels—a key witness—took the stand for her second day of testimony, Trump’s eyes remained closed for “several minutes,” the Times and ABC News reported, adding that Trump later dozed “on and off” as his defense attorneys and prosecutors debated Blanche’s call for a mistrial.

May 13 Trump’s eyes appeared to be closed at various points during Cohen’s testimony, according to The New York Times and CNN—with the Times more directly reporting the ex-president was “asleep” during the trial’s afternoon session—while The New York Post reports Trump “jerk[ed] his head forward slightly” and was “slumped forward in his chair,” noting that is “behavior typically associated with people who are asleep.”

May 14 Trump appeared to doze off once again as prosecutors continued to pry information out of Cohen, multiple outlets reported, with the Times’ Jonathan Swan noting Trump’s eyes remained closed and that he seemed to be “dozing peacefully,” and Politico’s Erica Orden observing Trump “slouched in his seat” with his eyes “seemingly closed and his mouth slack” as cross-examination began.

May 30 As the jury entered its second day of deliberation, Trump sat “mostly” with his eyes closed, the Times and the Associated Press reported, with a Times reporter adding Trump appeared to be “fidgeting from time to time,” as the jury appears close to reaching a verdict.

Chief Critic

Trump, who has berated New York prosecutors for bringing charges against him and slammed the judge overseeing the case, denied reports he was sleeping, saying in a Truth Social post on May 2 he had “simply close[d] my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes.” Trump also took the opportunity to reiterate his repeated criticism of the case as a “witch hunt,” and claimed he listens “intensely and take[s] it ALL in!!!”

News Peg

The jury entered deliberation earlier this week following closing arguments in the weeks-long trial, following testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses, including Daniels and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who testified earlier this month that the ex-president had first-hand knowledge of payments that were being made to “catch and kill” negative stories about him. The ex-attorney was the second major witness to testify at the trial, after Daniels took the witness stand last week, fielding questions from Trump’s attorneys about her alleged affair with the former president and the $130,000 hush money payment she took from Cohen before the 2016 election. During cross-examination, Trump attorney Susan Necheles accused Daniels—whose real name is Stephanie Clifford—of attempting to profit off the story of the affair, which Trump denies having with Daniels. The adult film star testified she was not incentivized by the hush money payout, saying she feared Trump could retaliate if the story got out, though she admitted she had wanted to sell the story even before the hush money offer was on the table so she could control the narrative.