Donald Trump always mocks his predecessor as "Sleepy Joe," but on Tuesday, it was the 79-year-old Republican who seemed to be fighting off sleep during the cabinet meeting.
The oldest president to be sworn in in US history, Donald Trump closed his eyes several times and for long seconds during this meeting open to the press.
The widely commented incident puts questions about the health of the almost octogenarian back at the heart of public debate, even though he himself had dismissed such concerns shortly before — as the White House is doing this time.
"President Trump listened attentively and conducted this marathon cabinet meeting for the entire three hours," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.
At the beginning of the meeting, Donald Trump himself had mocked the idea that he was running out of energy.
"You always find something new, like 'Is he healthy? Biden was great, but is Trump healthy?'" he said to the reporters present, calling them "crazy."
– “More vibrant” than 25 years ago –
"I will tell you when something is wrong," he then assured.
"One day it will happen to everyone, but for the moment I think I'm sharper than I was 25 years ago."
A few minutes later, the president could be seen with heavy eyelids, opening his eyes between two compliments from ministers, before closing them again.
Last month, at an event also open to the press in the Oval Office of the White House, Donald Trump had already appeared to be on the verge of dozing off, sunk deep into his chair.
Attention to the health of the Republican billionaire, who will turn 80 in June, only intensified in late November with the publication of a New York Times article, which showed the sharp reduction in public events, travel around the country, and working hours of the president compared to the first 10 months of his first term in 2017.
Donald Trump lashed out over a "biased article" while his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt brandished past New York Times articles at a press conference this week, which she said downplayed Joe Biden's health problems during his term.
Anger within the White House is fueled by what they see as a widespread media effort to stifle any questioning of the physical and cognitive abilities of the Democratic president, who left office at 82.
– MRI –
The Republican, back in power after a campaign marked by his rallies where he harangued the crowd for hours, loves to play on the comparison with his rival, who had given up running for re-election after a disastrous performance in a debate and internal pressures.
The health of the president of the world's leading power is always a matter of paramount importance, and today it is Donald Trump's turn to be the subject of discussion.
Talk show hosts on American television were quick to mock him Tuesday night. Jimmy Kimmel, one of his longtime critics, notably showed footage of the president with his eyes closed during the cabinet meeting.
"Remind us how sleepy Joe is, will you?" the ABC host said mockingly.
Attempts by Donald Trump and the White House to dismiss outright the idea of declining health are not helped by recurring criticism of a lack of transparency surrounding his health.
After persistent questions about why he had an MRI at the hospital in October, his official doctor finally communicated this week that the examination was "preventive" and had demonstrated the president's "excellent" cardiovascular health.
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