I don’t know who needs to hear this, but old people get tired. Which is why disgraced former president Donald Trump fell asleep during day one of his criminal trial regarding giving hush money to Stormy Daniels that came from his 2016 campaign funds. Which is hella illegal.
According to New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman (a long-time Trump apologist), Trump “appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest” and that his attorney “passed him notes for several minutes before Mr. Trump appeared to jolt awake and notice them.”
But, I mean, who among us hasn’t fallen asleep during one of our many criminal trials?
Obviously, I’m kidding. Kind of. I mean, Trump is old, but that’s really the only thing that isn’t offensive about him. After all, people get old. That’s what happens. It happens to all of us (until we die).
And guess what? President Joe Biden is old, too. Trump has been calling Biden “sleepy Joe” for years, though now that Trump went night-night during his criminal trial, that seems to be a moot point. In fact, #DrowsyDon is trending.
Look, both of these men are old. But only one of them is a serial criminal who is a proud racist and misogynist. Only one of them spent their first term in office personally enriching themselves and their family. Only one of them wants to scrap democracy in favor of being a dictator. Only one of these men should never be president again. That’s Trump, obviously.
It’s wild to me that people stand behind this guy. I mean, what an objectively terrible person. But he’s a reflection of our worst selves, and while some people see this and reject it, others embrace it, because it’s comforting to know that the most powerful man in the world hates the same people you do and will hurt them on your behalf. Trump tells the racists that it’s OK to be racist. He tells the misogynists that it’s OK to hate women. He tells the homophobes and transphobes that it’s OK to hate LGBTQ+ people.
And that, for far too many Americans, is a breath of fresh air.
But it’s also important to remember that Trump also hates poor people. And that the majority of Americans are poor people in his eyes. Remember when he said the White House was a dump? What do you think he’d say about your house? Trump pretends to represent the “common man” but he has no respect for people who work for a living, especially not with their hands. He has complete disdain for anyone who uses or has ever needed to use public assistance of any kind. People who live in poverty are not even human to him. Same with people fleeing other countries who are seeking asylum here. Also, he probably thinks your wife is ugly, and if he thinks your wife is hot, he feels entitled to grab her by the hoo-ha.
Union workers who support Trump are self-hating and that is sad. LGBTQ+ people who support Trump are self-hating and sad. BIPOC people who support Trump are self-hating and sad. Women supporting Trump are self-hating and sad.
There’s a lot of self-hatred in this country is what I’m saying.
Trump was an objectively terrible president. He was not good at the job, nor did he care to be good at it. He was, and is, proudly ignorant, caring only about himself.
So, yes, there are many concerns about Trump being elected again. And his age is only one of them. But it’s not like him falling asleep doesn’t raise some serious questions.
“If Trump is too old and weak to stay awake at his own criminal trial, what do you think will happen in the Situation Room?” tweeted Dan Pfeiffer, who served as a senior advisor to President Barack Obama.
A good point.
Many people have been comparing Trump’s courtroom nap to when Hillary Clinton testified for 11 hours or when Biden was deposed for five hours. Neither fell asleep.
Trump is dumb and selfish. Those two reasons alone make him a dangerous leader. Plus, he’s already seen what he can get away with (A LOT) and will no doubt use a second term to get away with even more.
Honestly, though, the best thing for this country should a second Trump term befall us is that he sleeps through the whole thing. Because we all know that whatever decisions he makes are going to be disastrous.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a nap. Because this shit is exhausting.