Trump Falls Asleep At His Own Criminal Trial

April 15 marked the first day of Donald J. Trump's first criminal trial. Jury selection began for what's casually called the "Hush Money Trial" but is really about financial fraud and election interference.

It's a simple case: Trump's lawyer and "fixer," Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a sexual affair with Trump.  Donald paid Cohen back with a series of checks that were falsely labeled "retainer agreements."  The result: this case of hush-money payments designed to hide the whole scheme from voters.  Trump was busy cheating on his wife back when she was home nursing his newborn son.  Hiding this from voters just days before the election provides the election interference portion of the case.

So this "hush money case" is really about financial fraud and election interference.

Despite the gravity of the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, Donald Trump could barely stay awake during his own jury selection. 

Multiple reporters stated they saw him having trouble keeping his eyes open. One stated he was "nodding off, head nodding down, sort of jolting back up at one point." Others stated he paid no attention to a note one of his lawyers handed him, but instead "his jaw kept falling on his chest, his mouth kept going slack."

As reported in Newsweek: 

"Breaking: Trump has fallen asleep at his own trial per @nytimes. OTOH [On the other hand] can you blame him? They were reading his tweets and posts," wrote journalist and commentator Keith Olbermann.

"Where's Mike Lindell when you need him #SleepyDon," posted The Lincoln Project, an organization founded by anti-Trump conservatives.

"If Trump is too old and weak to stay awake at his own criminal trial, what do you think will happen in the Situation Room?" posted Dan Pfeiffer, a co-host of Pod Saves America.

Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, wrote, "If he can't keep his eyes open when his own liberty is at stake, why would Americans have confidence he's capable of focus when our country's interests require sound presidential leadership?"