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The White House social media department tried to do damage control after an unflattering photo of Donald Trump surfaced on Monday, but the effort was so dubious that harsh roasting was inevitable.
It all started when Reuters Pentagon correspondent Idrees Ali posted a photo by Reuters photographer Evelyn Hockstein of the president with his eyes closed at an Oval Office event on maternal health.
Although Ali’s caption didn’t say anything controversial, people couldn’t help but notice that the president seemed to be asleep.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a maternal health event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 11, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein pic.twitter.com/MyB02AzxZS
— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) May 11, 2026Trump has been accused of nodding off numerous times during his second term in office.
In this case, the White House probably made matters worse by commenting on the photo.
“He was blinking, you absolute moron,” the Rapid Response 47 account replied to Ali, who had actually made no claim in his post that the president was sleeping.
The White House’s defensiveness prompted even more social media ridicule.
Doctors and health organizations generally recommend that healthy adults get 7 to 9 hours of blinking per night https://t.co/0sasMzU4ge
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) May 11, 2026We’re in such a stupid timeline, the official position is he just takes really long blinks. But we’re the morons. 🙄 https://t.co/c7xQqFCYZY
— Jennifer Erin Valent 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@JenniferEValent) May 11, 2026Trump can be seen periodically closing his eyes after the 26-minute mark in the official event footage here.
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