Donald Trump loves to boast that he’s the healthiest president in history. But anyone who’s followed his habits might raise an eyebrow at that claim. His diet leans more toward burgers than broccoli. The gym isn’t part of his daily routine. And when it comes to sleep, it sounds like he doesn’t get much of it.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins recently lifted the curtain on Trump’s unusual sleep patterns during an episode of Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets.
JD Vance says Trump never sleeps, calling staff at 2 a.m. and up at 6. At 79, chronic sleep deprivation wrecks judgment. Add a history of Adderall use and dozing off at important events, and America is being run on fumes. pic.twitter.com/uvqwg8A9lq
— Chetter 📢🗽⚖💙 Beacon for Democracy (@ChetterHub) September 7, 2025
Recalling a story from Trump’s first term, Collins said, “I had this source who said you never want to be on Air Force One on a trip.” The reason? Trump apparently refused to sleep, even on long overseas flights. Worse, he didn’t want anyone else to rest either. “Trump is just always up and talking and he’ll … have them go wake staff up if they’re asleep because he wants to talk to them,” Collins explained.
That might help explain some of those drowsy moments reporters noticed on his foreign trips. Still, as former Vice President Mike Pence once told Collins, Trump’s need for attention runs deep, so it’s no shock he’d want people awake to listen, even when they’d rather catch some shut-eye.
Online, Trump loyalists spun the story as proof of a tireless work ethic. Critics saw it differently. One X user wrote, “Since when did lack of sleep become a human achievement badge.” Another joked, “Imagine one day he gets a great 8 hour sleep and just wakes up just filled with love.”
According to the National Institute on Aging, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night. But Donald Trump might belong to the rare group of “short sleepers,” people who function just fine on four or five hours. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton both claimed to get by on less sleep, and Trump himself has often said he only logs a few hours a night, tossing and turning through what little rest he gets.
The Institute also notes that older adults often struggle to sleep well, and that too little rest can lead to memory issues, irritability, relationship strain, and even a higher risk of falls.
No one’s diagnosing Donald Trump here, but it’s worth noting he once joked in a Navy anniversary speech about walking carefully down stairs so he wouldn’t fall, and critics have questioned his recall at times. Maybe a few more hours of sleep wouldn’t hurt. Especially if he cut back on the dozen Diet Cokes a day he’s said to order from the Oval Office.
Diet Cokes? Drink caffeine free if you need to have it. Also… has he ever taken a sleep study? Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Causation vs correlation? His lack of a soul comes from deeper than a restless night.