President Donald Trump looked as though he was on the verge of falling asleep as a key member of his administration helped him launch a new health-tracking system at the White House.
In somewhat bemusing scenes, the 79-year-old president’s eyes kept drooping as he tried to listen to his own Medicare administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, talk up the initiative—and praise Trump’s leadership in making it happen.
“We’re going to have remarkable advances in how consumers can use their own records,” the former talk show host told Trump in a room full of tech titans and industry leaders.
Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz speaks during an event on Health Technology in the East Room of the White House as U.S. President Donald Trump listens. / Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
“And all this comes back to one fundamental issue, Mr. President, which is leadership,” Oz said.
The event, which also featured Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and crypto czar David Sacks, took place the day after Trump returned to Washington from a whirlwind trip to Scotland.
Over the past few days, the president has announced a new trade deal with the European Union, held meetings with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and opened a new Trump International Golf Course with his sons Eric and Don Jr.
President Donald Trump with his sons Don Jr. and Eric at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland on July 29, 2025. / Andrew Harnik / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Trump has also faced ongoing questions about Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker who is now the center of a political firestorm in Washington.
But this was not the first time Trump struggled to stay awake—something the president and his MAGA followers regularly criticized “Sleepy Joe” Biden for doing.
Earlier this month, the president at times looked on the verge of falling asleep at an energy and AI summit in Pittsburgh.
He was also caught falling asleep several times during his “hush money” trial in New York last year, where he was ultimately convicted for falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with a porn star.
Despite his age, Trump and his supporters often boast that he is in excellent health and nothing like Biden, whose last months in office were marked by cognitive decline.
