Did Donald Trump sleep in the courtroom during the hearing?What does his team say?

Donald Trump’s team has denied the accusation.

Former US President Donald Trump appeared in a New York court on Monday on charges of falsifying business documents, becoming the first former president in US history to face a criminal trial, The Independent reported. However, he appeared to be sleeping and struggled to open his eyes. Many people on the Internet have given him nicknames such as “Sleepy Don” and “Don Snowleone,” a reference to the Godfather series.

New York Times Journalist Maggie Haberman was one of the few allowed to sit in the courtroom where the incident took place. “Trump appears to be sleeping. His head remains down and his mouth is slack,” Ms. Haberman said on the outlet’s website. The reporter said the former president “appeared to have dozed off a few times,” Ms Haberman claimed that as he dozed, he could see “his mouth slacken and his head drop to his chest”. She also said Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Branch, “passed the note around to him for several minutes before Mr. Trump appeared to snap awake and notice the note.”

Ms. Haberman told CNN“There have been moments in other trials where he looked motionless and seemed to be sleeping, but then he would move. This time, he didn’t notice his attorney, Todd Branch, hand him note, his chin kept falling on his chest and his mouth remained slack.”

Additionally, Reuters’ Jack Queen said that just before 3 p.m., the 45th U.S. president was “leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and his eyes appearing to be closed for minutes at a time.” He said he looked like he was “dozing off,” rather than “dozing off.”

However, Donald Trump’s team denied the accusation. “This is 100% fake news coming from ‘journalists’ who are not even in the courtroom,” the campaign told The Independent.

Meanwhile, some on social media mocked the former president.

One user said: “Funny he posted on Truth Social while he was asleep.”

Another wrote: “Looks like he’s getting old. The judge won’t let Sleepy Don sleep.”

Congressman Daniel Goldman said: “Trump fell asleep during his own criminal trial. Imagine if he was in the situation room listening to a briefing about…anyone but himself Something about that would make him doze off.”

“My theory: Trump’s legal team sedated him,” one user commented.

The Biden-Harris campaign also posted a meme mocking Trump.