Critics of former US president Donald Trump are claiming footage shows him dozing off during the first night of the Republican National Convention. This is false; the GOP presidential nominee — days after an assassination attempt — was bowing his head in prayer along with others in the crowd.
“Trump fell asleep at the RNC. On the first night. He just got there,” says a July 15, 2024 post on X.
The post includes a short clip of Trump with his eyes shut as Rachel Maddow and other MSNBC personalities speak in the background.
Similar claims rocketed across X following the first night of the Republican National Convention.
Trump received a hero’s welcome as he entered the Milwaukee, Wisconsin arena with a bandaged right ear — his first public appearance since he was wounded in an assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania rally.
The attempt on Trump’s life briefly silenced the drumbeat of Democrats who called on President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee amid concerns over the 81-year-old’s mental acuity following his dismal debate performance in June 2024. Trump has for years used the nickname “Sleepy Joe” to refer to Biden.
The posts claiming to show Trump, who at 78 is just three years younger than his political rival, asleep in the crowd are inaccurate.
In reality, the Republican businessman was closing his eyes as a speaker led the convention in prayer.
The posts misrepresent a snippet from MSNBC’s coverage of the convention in which Maddow and a panel of other network hosts discussed Trump’s selection of US Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. The split-screen showed Trump with his eyes closed.
AFP matched the timestamp in the lower third of the screen with the same moment in different streams from NBC News and other outlets (archived here and here).
The alternative footage shows Pastor James Roemke was called to the stage for a benediction. After doing an impression of Trump, he led a prayer during which the presidential candidate closed his eyes along with others in the crowd.
“There’s a prayer going on right now, so you see former president Trump closing his eyes,” NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie said as the network tuned in to show the pastor speaking.
C-SPAN’s recording also shows Trump and others temporarily shutting their eyes for the prayer (archived here).
In a July 16 statement to AFP, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: “It is disgusting some people would spread misinformation about something so sacred as bowing one’s head in prayer.”
AFP has previously debunked similar claims targeting Biden here and here.
