‘I Thought He Was Dead There for a Sec’: Trump Powers Down During Lutnick’s Glowing Speech — and the Zoom-In Sends Fans Spiraling

President Donald Trump was caught doing the unthinkable yet again.

The 79-year-old grandfather looked like he had lost a battle to keep his neck up during a meeting, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick flattered him excessively.

Lutnick accompanied Trump and the first lady to Fort Bragg earlier this week to meet with soldiers and honor the special forces team involved in the military operation in Venezuela in early 2026. Trump remained standing for most of his speech, using the podium for balance, so that what happened a few weeks ago under Lutnick’s watch doesn’t happen again.

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Lutnick, along with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and other senior members of the House and Senate, were in attendance for the Feb. 2 briefing at the White House.

“Thank goodness you are in this chair changing it and taking it back,” Lutnick, 64, said to the president in a clip after claiming his predecessors weakened America’s manufacturing and mining industries.

The longtime Trump supporter continued, “We are taking back critical minerals. We are taking back mining. We’re taking back the auto industry. You’re going to watch us take back pharmaceuticals. We’re going to take back semiconductors. None of this could possibly happen without your leadership.”

While Lutnick buttered him up in front of the cameras, Trump was right in front of him, slumped in his chair, repeatedly nodding and closing his eyes. The other officials in the room stood stonefaced behind the MAGA leader, who came off as uninterested in the overindulgent adoration bestowed on him.

People on social media took notice of Trump’s heavy-lidded reaction to Lutnick singing his praises. The usually self-absorbed politician, apparently on the verge of falling asleep, became a heated online talking point.

“These guys knew very well that this guy likes hype, so they usually dish a lot of hype until Baba [goes to] sleep,” a Threads user jokingly wrote in response to a clip of Trump not getting energized by a subordinate lauding him in public. 

Another critic of the Trump administration replied, “Just a lot [of] bootlicking.” A third poster noted, “Deep inside they are all laughing at him.”

The conversation about Trump’s head drooping in the middle of his White House photo op also played out on TikTok, where one person asked, “Is he even awake?” and received the reply, “Gonna go with probably not.”

“Trump [is] trying his hardest to stay awake,” one TikTok user pointed out. Yet another poster called out Trump by commenting, “When he’s not getting talked about, or he’s not talking, he falls asleep.” Another suggested, “Trump doesn’t believe him.”

Additionally, an Instagram commenter expressed, “This is like a comedy sketch that’s somehow turned into reality. Embarrassing.” Another said, “I thought he was dead there a sec. Also ‘changing the chair’ is a super weird choice of phrase/”

Trump’s 2025 ended with several incidents in which he struggled to keep his eyes open at the White House. On Dec. 2, the businessman-turned-politician nearly fell asleep multiple times at the final Cabinet briefing of the year.

In an embarrassing foreshadowing of the Oval Office gathering this week, Trump drifted off at the table in December when Lutnick called him the “greatest president ever” who “created the greatest Cabinet.”

That moment of Trump looking drowsy became such a major trending topic that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to issue a statement explaining why the head of the Executive Branch appeared to be checked out at work.

“President Trump was listening attentively and running the entire three-hour marathon Cabinet meeting,” Leavitt, 28, told People at the time.

She added. “This epic moment put an exclamation point on President Trump’s ninth Cabinet meeting of his second term — all of which have been entirely open to the press for the whole world to see.”

Leavitt’s explanation did not halt the criticism of Trump persistently resting his eyes during daytime hours. The commander in chief’s own comments about the apparent catnaps were a mix of sincerity and spin.

“They’re boring as hell,” Trump admitted about the Cabinet sessions, per USA Today. He later said, “I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening. I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out.”

At nearly 80 years old, Trump will likely have more occasions where he snoozes as the world watches, which will provide more fuel to the firestorm of concern over the health and fitness of the oldest person ever inaugurated as president of the United States.

‘I Thought He Was Dead There for a Sec’: Trump Powers Down During Lutnick’s Glowing Speech — and the Zoom-In Sends Fans Spiraling