David Scott and Tom Suozzi caught sleeping during Trump’s SOTU: ‘Don’t want to hear the truth'

WASHINGTON, DC: During President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24, two Democratic members of the House of Representatives, David Scott and Tom Suozzi were widely photographed appearing to fall asleep during the speech.

The images and video clips showing both lawmakers with their eyes closed circulated rapidly on social media, and quickly became a topic of discussion among viewers and political observers alike.

Public criticism of Democratic lawmakers caught sleeping during Trump’s address

As the images went viral, social media users seized on them to question and criticize the Democratic lawmakers’ attentiveness during the high-profile event. One netizen slammed the moment, writing, "No just the ones that don’t want to hear the truth."

Another commenter weighed in, stating, "They wish they did a better job. That's not sleepiness. That's depression and sadness that they lost and now a real leader is taking care of the country."

A user remark, suggested that the moment was more about desperation than just sleeping, "He was praying because he knows that his career is over."

Meanwhile, one social media critic posted, implying the expression reflected democrats losing in the upcoming midterm elections, "He’s mourning the loss of the midterms."

Another social media user urged, "We need a refund from his paycheck."

Separately, a commentator chimed in with, "nah they're praying for their own souls."

Trump delivers record breaking State of the Union address

Trump's speech ran approximately 1 hour and 48 minutes, making it the longest address to a joint session of Congress in at least 60 years, according to the American Presidency Project, which has tracked speech lengths since 1964.

The speech surpassed the previous record, also set by Trump, when he spoke for 1 hour and 39 minutes last year. That address was not officially classified as a State of the Union because it occurred during the first year of his second nonconsecutive term.

Prior to Trump, the record was held by former President Bill Clinton, whose 2000 State of the Union lasted 1 hour and 28 minutes.

In contrast, the shortest address in the past six decades came from former President Richard Nixon. His 1972 State of the Union lasted just 28 minutes, according to the American Presidency Project. Tuesday’s extended runtime included frequent pauses for applause, interruptions, guest recognitions, and cheers honoring the Olympic gold-winning US men’s hockey team.

The State of the Union provided Trump with an opportunity to outline or reset his national agenda and comes at a time when most Americans believe the country is worse off than it was a year ago, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.