Opinion The New York trial is wearing down Trump — and it shows. (WaPo)

Jennifer Rubin writes: "Whatever the cause for his frequent drifting off, Trump has drawn plenty of fire from social media and late-night comedians. The man who has an insulting nickname for so many political foes now gets ribbed as #DonSnorleone or “Sleepy Don” or #TheNodfather. "

Opinion 

 The New York trial is wearing down Trump — and it shows

His nodding off in court is a sign that he is weaker and more vulnerable than ever.

By Jennifer Rubin

Columnist|

May 7, 2024 at 7:45 a.m. EDT

Former president Donald Trump returns to the courtroom after a break during his falsifying business records trial in New York on April 30. (Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post) 

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The news media used to monitor Twitter (now known as X) 24/7 to catch the latest utterance from four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump. These days, the press obsessively keeps tabs on Trump’snap schedule in a Manhattan courtroom.

Opinion 

 The New York trial is wearing down Trump — and it shows

His nodding off in court is a sign that he is weaker and more vulnerable than ever.

By Jennifer Rubin

Columnist|

May 7, 2024 at 7:45 a.m. EDT

Former president Donald Trump returns to the courtroom after a break during his falsifying business records trial in New York on April 30. (Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post) 

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5 min

Share

Comment463

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The news media used to monitor Twitter (now known as X) 24/7 to catch the latest utterance from four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump. These days, the press obsessively keeps tabs on Trump’snap schedule in a Manhattan courtroom.

On the very first day of Trump’s falsifying business records trial, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported, “Even as a judge was hearing arguments on last-minute issues in a criminal case that centers on salacious allegations and threatens to upend his bid for the presidency, Mr. Trump appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.” (That earned her a glarefrom Trump.)

Pundits inside the courtroom chime in to inform Americans when he nods off. You can believe Trump’s sleepiness has become noticeable when Fox News propagandists try to cover for him by praising his naps.

Outside of MAGA-friendly media, observers are less sanguine about his dozing off. The Atlantic’s David A. Graham called Trump’s slumbers “worrisome.” He asked, “If Trump can’t manage to stay awake during a trial when his very freedom is on the line, what are the chances that he will be able to focus on the intricacies of a spiraling regional war, a trade policy, or any new crisis that might face him if he returns to the White House?” (One might ask the same of his unhinged rants, juvenile musing about Gettysburg and slurred speech: Is this a man ready to resume the presidency?)

As president, Trump usually appeared in the Oval Office only after extensive “executive time” up in the residence, so perhaps sitting in the courtroom all day is too taxing for him. Others speculate that he does not get enough Diet Coke. Others who doubt his mental fitness claim vindication in his habitual napping. Since Trump produces hyped and comical attestations to his health rather than detailed medical reports, we cannot know for certain if there is some medical issue.

Whatever the cause for his frequent drifting off, Trump has drawn plenty of fire from social media and late-night comedians. The man who has an insulting nickname for so many political foes now gets ribbed as #DonSnorleone or “Sleepy Don” or #TheNodfather.

The mocking has gotten under Trump’s skin. On Thursday, he insisted: “Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” He sounds much like an errant schoolboy caught sleeping in class: “Just resting my eyes!”

Trump’s denial understandably sparked a new round of mockery. Rex Huppke humorously imitated Trump-speak and wayward capitalization. “Trump is far too STRONG and MANLY to nod off in court and all prior reports about such behavior are preposterous,” he wrote. “What those lamestream losers witnessed Tuesday was America’s greatest president closing his eyes and obeying the court’s UNCONSTITUTIONAL gag order really, really hard.”

All jokes aside, Trump’s denial is par for a narcissist’s course. He can admit no weakness. He expects his base to freakishly admire his physique(!). And, most important, he and his followers have grounded his 2024 campaign on the myth that President Biden (who bikes, dashes off to war zones and works out five times a week, according to his doctor) is the enfeebled one. One wonders whether Trump’s attacks on Biden’s aging are yet another example of habitual “projection.”

Just as Trump felt compelled to ludicrously lie that his inauguration had the biggest attendance ever, his latest silly fabrication to protect his own ego is revealing — and frightening. Whether it is crowd size or sleeping or the outcome of an election, Trump demands that we believe him, not our “lying eyes.” (He has also lied by insisting that the judge’s gag order prevents him from testifying. Justice Juan Merchan specifically rebutted that in open court.)

Maintaining his self-image of invincibility entails obliterating objective truth, discrediting independent sources of information (the media was targeted as the “enemy of the people”) and propagandizing nonstop. This is all part of the authoritarian handbook. If a strongman cannot convince the masses that he is the sole source of truth, at least he can confuse them (“alternative facts”) so they do not know whom to believe.

The trial is aggravating Trump’s lifelong fear of humiliation and his insistence on being the toughest bully on the block (being a “killer” was apparently his father’s highest compliment). Any objective observer would acknowledge that things have not been going his way, to put it mildly. The judge held him in contempt. David Pecker exposed the “catch and kill” scheme Trump had long denied. Hope Hicks’s devastating testimony confirmed that Trump knew the payments to Michael Cohen were not for legal services (backing up expected testimony from Cohen). And Trump now knows that if he takes the stand, a slew of embarrassing and negative facts can be introduced to impeach him. At some level, even he must realize this trial is not providing him with a campaign advantage.

Trump cannot afford to lose the aura of power, control and defiance he wields to keep his supporters entranced. A weak, sleepy and docile Trump is not what drew them to the cult. You can understand why Trump might prefer to saw logs than to confront his worst nightmare.

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin

Jennifer Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post. She is the author of “Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump” and is host of the podcast Jen Rubin's "Green Room." Twitter