President Donald Trump has again been subjected to criticism for allegedly struggling to remain awake during the Pennsylvania Innovation Event held at Carnegie Mellon University. A clip is going viral on social media in which Trump appears to be on the verge of falling asleep in the middle of the event hosted by Republican Sen. Dave McCormick where leaders in Pittsburgh discussed how to turn the city into a hub for energy, robotics and artificial intelligence innovation.
Sharing Trump’s clip, an X user wrote, “Sleepy Don Drowsy Again: In what has become a frequent sight, a very low-energy Trump can barely manage to stay awake in midday at the Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit. He would HATE it if this video went viral. Make sure everyone sees this!”
Sleepy Don Drowsy Again: In what has become a frequent sight, a very low-energy Trump can barely manage to stay awake in midday at the Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit. He would HATE it if this video went viral.
Make sure everyone sees this!pic.twitter.com/QJLf2HGqVR
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) July 15, 2025
A fan page of Democrats tweeted, “Donald Trump barely keeping his eyes open at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit. If this was President Biden, the media would be losing its mind.”
Taking a dig at the recent Epstein controversy, an X user wrote, “I wonder if he’s dreaming about how badly he screwed up with the Epstein files, and who he can blame it on next,” while another wrote, “I prefer presidents who can stay awake at summits.”
I wonder if he’s dreaming about how badly he screwed up with the Epstein files, and who he can blame it on next.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) July 15, 2025
I prefer presidents who can stay awake at summits.
— MM (@adgirlMM) July 16, 2025
Someone even sparked his dementia rumors as he wrote, “He looks horrible. He won’t make it in 3 yrs. Senile with dementia.”
He looks horrible. He won’t make it in 3 yrs. Senile with dementia
— Eve Arden (@nickoftime26) July 15, 2025
However, Trump’s fans came forward in his defense, citing that the clip has been misunderstood and the President was very attentive during the entire event. Some even compared him with Joe Biden who was also caught sleeping during public events. An X user tweeted, “Trump was just resting his eyes. Biden was snoring.”
Trump was just resting his eyes.
Biden was snoring. pic.twitter.com/39m8U72lau
— Believer in Truth, Justice and Freedom (@LagerthaMuadDib) July 16, 2025
“That’s because he works 22 hours a day. Biden couldn’t keep his eyes open because he was wandering around in jungles,” wrote another.
During the event, Trump and McCormick announced $92 billion worth of energy and tech investments in Pennsylvania, including $56 billion in new energy infrastructure and $36 million in new data center projects. The announcements were positioned as crucial for enhancing Pennsylvania’s role in the national energy landscape. McCormick emphasized that recent projects could potentially create thousands of jobs and bolster the local economy significantly.
Despite the huge announcement, Trump’s critics were fixated on his alleged “sleepy moment” which hasn’t happened for the first time. There have been many instances when the President has been caught “dozing off” during public events. One of the recent examples is the military parade held on his birthday in Washington DC. Netizens circulated a photo of Trump in which he appeared bored and possibly taking a short nap as soldiers marched down the streets of Washington DC to mark the US Army’s 250th anniversary.
