Trump's 'you'll never see me sleeping on camera' remark resurfaces after Knicks game clip

After being caught several times nodding off at important events, one of President Donald Trump's jabs at former President Joe Biden, whom he calls "sleepy Joe," has resurfaced. The President seemingly nodded off at a New York Knicks game on Monday night, according to several social media posts, and with that, his statement, "You'll never see me sleeping on camera," has come back to bite him.

Trump, who attended Game 3 of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, was caught with his eyes closed for a prolonged period while sitting next to Knicks owner James Dolan. Social media was soon flooded with clips of the incident, with users claiming that Trump was sleeping at a high-voltage sporting event after making the fans go through extra security measures and delays. 

Some users brought back old statements of Trump, which he made on The Flagrant podcast in 2024, attacking Biden. "He has an ability to fall asleep while on camera…he can lie down and in minutes, he's stone-cold out, and he's got cameras on him because he's the president," Trump said to the host. He went on to add, "You'll never see me sleeping in front of a camera."

The President, who is soon to be 80 years old, has been caught sleeping on camera several times, with the most recent incident occurring at the NBA finals. Previously, Trump has allegedly nodded off during cabinet meetings and White House events while people seemingly spoke to reporters standing behind him. He was labeled "Commander-in-Sleep" by the Democrats after images allegedly showed Trump slumped to the side during a White House event on "Clean Coal." After he gave the floor to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Trump appeared to lean back in his chair, and he closed his eyes for prolonged periods as others spoke.  

Despite the allegations, Republicans and members of his administration have fiercely defended the President, claiming he has never fallen asleep on camera. Earlier this month, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a tense exchange in a congressional hearing over Trump dozing off during public appearances, like Cabinet meetings. When Lieu asked if Rubio had ever seen the President sleep at meetings, the State Secretary immediately responded: "I've never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn't sleep, which is a big problem," adding that Trump frequently calls him in the early morning hours. 

Lieu then proceeded to show multiple clips that seemingly showed the President closing his eyes and allegedly nodding off, but Rubio continued to dismiss the claims. "You are literally talking about issues of war and peace, and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you," Lieu said, claiming that Rubio was lying to Congress. However, the State Secretary claimed the videos showed no proof of Trump sleeping, and the claims are bogus. "Just keep lying, Secretary Rubio, just keep lying," Lieu said in the end.