Trump, 80, Promptly Falls Asleep After Announcing New Steel Plant

Donald Trump struggled to stay awake during the Oval Office press conference.

President Donald Trump once again struggled to keep his eyes open Monday, just moments after unveiling a plan to build a new $15 billion steel plant in eastern Iowa.

As Energy Secretary Chris Wright launched into an explanation of the administration’s industrialization agenda and new partnership with Mesabi Metallics, Trump’s eyes shut and his head drooped forward.

Trump is struggling to stay awake on camera pic.twitter.com/sR8EaKNvj9— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 28, 2026

Trump is struggling to stay awake on camera pic.twitter.com/sR8EaKNvj9

Rewant Ruia, the chairman of Mesabi, expressed his excitement about the project, while Trump kept his eyes closed and neck slack. As Ruia spoke, Trump angled his face toward the executive, but his eyelids continued to flutter open and closed.

Trump's eyes are getting very heavy pic.twitter.com/aKT2goaYkV— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 28, 2026

Trump's eyes are getting very heavy pic.twitter.com/aKT2goaYkV

When answering questions from reporters, Trump sounded truly exhausted. The president’s responses were quiet and short, and his speech was slurred.

In addition to falling asleep during some major announcements, Trump has also appeared to nod off during signing ceremonies, Cabinet meetings, Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral, and the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon, to name a few.

For years, Trump’s entourage has boasted about the president’s supposedly endless supply of energy, but over the course of his first two years back in office, the president has repeatedly exhibited bizarre conduct in the public eye. Not only does that include taking naps during public events, but also erratic behavior, slurred speech, appearing lost or disoriented, and sporting mysterious bruises. Trump’s behavior has spurred calls for health examinations from medical experts, politicians, and voters fearful of the president’s apparent cognitive decline.

Trump’s Initial Plan for Vote by Mail Was Far More Sinister

A new report sheds light on how Trump planned to restrict vote-in mailing—and put Howard Lutnick in charge of the whole thing.

President Trump had an even more extreme plan to restrict mail-in voting before the Supreme Court intervened, according to reporting from ProPublica.

Several sources familiar with the plan told ProPublica that Trump planned to require all ballots to be delivered through certified mail. That means anyone who wanted to vote by mail would be required to personally sign to receive their ballots—potentially penalizing the voting rights of millions of Americans simply for not being home.

This was a core tenet of one of the earlier versions of the president’s restrictive executive order, which was blocked by the Supreme Court in August. The final version omitted the certified mail requirement, instead simply requiring the U.S. Postal Service to vet mail-in voters through a massive national database.

The certified........

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