Former US president Donald Trump says he didn’t fall asleep during his hush money trial.
Multiple reporters from outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post have published reports noting that Trump appeared to doze off during his first criminal trial.
Trump has been regularly appearing in a Manhattan court since the trial kicked off on April 15. He is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a sexual affair with the porn star Stormy Daniels.
But the reports of him snoozing, Trump says, aren’t true at all.
“Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday. “I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!”
Trump’s remarks come just a day after The Times’ Maggie Haberman told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that it is “100 per cent true” that he was sleeping at some points during his trial.
Haberman, however, did acknowledge that there were times where Trump really was just closing his eyes.
“That is how he tries to just basically stay calm and deal with it. And whether that then leads to sleep or whatever, who knows?” Haberman said. “But he is sitting there with his eyes closed for long periods of time. It’s not always sleeping.”
This isn’t the first time the Trump campaign has refuted reports of him catching some shut-eye while in court. A representative for his campaign said in a statement to The Independent last month that the reports are “100% Fake News”.
But that hasn’t deterred people from cracking jokes at Trump’s expense.
“Imagine committing so many crimes, you get bored at your own trial,” Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, said of Trump during an episode that aired on April 15.
Besides the case in Manhattan, Trump has been charged in three other criminal cases, including a state criminal case in Georgia over accusations that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results.
The former president is also on the line for two federal cases: one relating to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and another where he’s accused of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office.
None of the three cases have firm trial dates set yet.