Trump says he only appeared to nod off at December cabinet meeting because it was 'boring'

President Trump said on Thursday at the start of his first cabinet meeting of 2026 at the White House that he had only appeared to nod off during a December cabinet meeting because “it got pretty boring, no offense,” and that he had closed his eyes rather than fallen asleep. Mr. Trump maintained that he had not actually fallen asleep, saying he had closed his eyes “because I wanted to get the hell out of there” and adding, “I don’t sleep much, let me tell you.” His allies had strenuously insisted he was alert and attentive at last month’s meeting, but Mr.

Trump also told a reporter for New York magazine that he had closed his eyes and that the meeting had been “boring as hell.” The December meeting lasted 2 hours 18 minutes. The Times article notes critics who observe that much of cabinet time is devoted to advisers offering lengthy, fawning praise for the president.

At one point in the earlier meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested Mr. Trump had “kept the hurricanes away.” On Thursday, Mr. Trump expressed his “love” for cabinet members and said, “we are not going to go through the whole table.” He skipped over several prominent members, including Ms.

Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio; the public portion of Thursday’s gathering lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. Almost as an afterthought he addressed Vice President JD Vance, saying, “JD, if you’d like to say something you can.

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