A rumor that U.S. President Donald Trump dozed off and hit his head during a televised meeting at the White House spread online in late April 2026.
For example, on April 23, 2026, a Facebook user posted an alleged video of Trump nodding off until he eventually hit his head on his desk and remained asleep with his tongue out. Some users seemed to interpret the video as authentic.
Other users shared the rumor on social media, with some including the full purported clip and others simply showing a screenshot of Trump with his eyes closed. A number of Snopes readers contacted us to ask about its legitimacy.
The story spread following the release of a real video of Trump and some of his advisers speaking in the Oval Office on April 23. At various points throughout the conference, Trump appeared to close his eyes and nod off.
To investigate the rumor's legitimacy, we first used search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo. If Trump had really passed out at his desk and hit his head, journalists with reputable news outlets, such as The Associated Press or Reuters, would have widely reported on it, and those search inquiries would have uncovered such evidence.
That was not the case. We did not find any credible reporting about Trump falling asleep and hitting his head on the desk — only speculation that the president was nodding off during the meeting.
We identified the rumor's original source: a Facebook account (archived) that described its owner as a "digital memeist" and featured a slew of satirical posts with digitally manipulated images and videos. Therefore, we've rated this claim as originated as satire.
The account first shared the video in question on April 23 and followed with other digitally manipulated creations of the same scene, such as one where Trump's head pops like a balloon and an image of his face down on the desk with a pen in his nose.
There were also signs the rumor's creator used artificial intelligence to generate all or part of the images on the Facebook page. The creator's fundraising site declared they were working on "becoming an AI master" to create more videos and memes.
Reviewing authentic footage of the April 23 meeting available on C-SPAN revealed moments where Trump appeared drowsy, complete with characteristic slow blinking and sustained periods of time where his eyes were closed. (Most notably, at 26:05, Trump closes his eyes for 12 seconds, opens them for a brief moment, then shuts them for 10 more seconds).
Snopes has checked several claims alleging that Trump has nodded off over the years, including at the 2024 Republican National Convention, the funeral for Pope Francis and during a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2, 2025.
We also commonly check content generated with AI technologies, like a rumor about Trump posting video of his participation in a "blood ritual" that spread in April 2026.
Because the effectiveness of satire is subjective, we use "originated as satire" or "labeled satire" ratings based on creators' description of their work. It's your call on whether you agree.