Internet divided as legal expert claims Trump fell asleep during 'critical' portion of Friday's testimony

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: On Friday, May 3, former President Donald Trump was observed once again dozing off during a “critical moment” of the hush money criminal trial proceedings, according to a legal expert.

Per Newsweek, Norm Eisen, who served as a Special Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the former POTUS's first impeachment, informed reporters that Trump fell asleep in the Manhattan courtroom during his former White House aide Hope Hicks' testimony.

Hicks' emotional testimony involved discussing Trump's reaction when a story regarding his alleged affairs with adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal was published.

Hicks also mentioned how Trump's team was "concerned" about the potential damage that the ill-reputed Access Hollywood tape, in which the MAGA strongman is heard bragging about grabbing women "by the p***y," would cause to his 2016 election chances.

Numerous reports from within the courtroom claimed that Trump was possibly asleep during the trial and had his eyes closed. The 77-year-old presumptive GOP nominee outright refuted these claims, insisting on Truth Social that he only closes his "beautiful blue eyes" to "listen intensely and take it ALL in!!!"

Norm Eisen claims Trump slept in court again on Friday

Eisen told CNN that Donald Trump fell asleep once more during his hush money trial, including during Hope Hicks' testimony.

Eisen claimed, "I was there today for the better part of the trial. He was asleep, including in a critical portion of Hope Hicks' testimony, when she was saying how she first learned of the Stormy Daniels situation.”

"I watched him closely. He was immobile, and then the judge broke for lunch and his eyes popped open and he woke up. It's pretty clear that he was sleeping," he affirmed.

In her testimony, Hope Hicks revealed that Trump was apprehensive about how his wife, the former First Lady Melania Trump, would respond after the Wall Street Journal published details about his alleged affair with Daniels and McDougal just weeks before the 2016 election.

"He was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife, and he wanted me to make sure the newspapers weren't delivered to the residence that morning," Hicks said.

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges are related to a $130,000 payment that he allegedly arranged for his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to keep secret an alleged affair she had with him in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

The company records later listed the payment as “legal fees” for Cohen. According to prosecutors, the payment was an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and not merely an effort to save Trump's marriage.

Additionally, Hope Hicks has stated that she was "very concerned" about the contents of the Access Hollywood tape, but still instructed fellow members of Trump's 2016 campaign team to "deny, deny, deny" that he made the lewd remarks.

"It complicated where we were trying to go with the campaign," Hicks remarked. "It was pulling us backwards in a way that was going to be hard to overcome."

According to Joey Jackson, a legal analyst and former New York State prosecutor, the testimony given by Hicks reveals that the Trump campaign was "fully aware of how incredibly damaging" the release of the Access Hollywood tape would be for his White House bid.

This knowledge may provide additional support for the prosecution's arguments in connection with the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

"While he was dismissing it as 'locker room talk' to voters, behind the scenes his campaign team was scrambling to control the impending firestorm they anticipated it might bring," Jackson said.

He added, "Hicks' testimony also portrayed Trump as a very hands-on boss. Taken together, these takeaways would bolster the prosecution's argument that Trump's team would know how imperative it was to cover up another potential scandal, and Trump would be involved in making that happen."

Internet reacts as expert claims Trump fell asleep during 'critical' portion of testimony 

One X user remarked, "He will fall asleep at the wheel when Russia is attacking us and then people will wish they voted for the other guy."

Another user said, "Just look at those bags under his eyes. They just about have his eyes swollen shut."

Someone else wrote, "Tired of "Trump in Court". Can we move on to "Trump behind Bars"? How about a house imprisonment? He can't leave his state nor hold rallies nor run for office nor communicate. Just sit on the porch and see family. Easy for Secret Service and easy on us."

One user argued, "Can you blame him? Not even I could handle his schedule."

Another X user quipped, "Good. Sleep through the nonsense."

A user tweeted, "He should bring a neck pillow and blanket for this nonsense trial."

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