In early June 2026, a video circulated online purportedly showing U.S. President Donald Trump falling asleep and then waking himself up with a fart during an hour-long coal industry announcement in the Oval Office on June 4.
For example, one Facebook user posted the footage along with the caption (archived):
Another video has emerged appearing to show UFC event manager and pool cleaner Donald Trump waking himself up from a deep slumber by uncorking a long fart, as his staffers visibly struggle not to react.
The clip spread elsewhere on social media, including on YouTube, where one user wrote, "The timeline completely fractured when we all witnessed Trump farting live. TV cameras capturing what everyone is calling the ultimate Trump sleep fart, forcing a massive conversation about political double standards." A rumbling sound can be heard from around 2:29 onward.
While the footage does authentically show Trump dozing off and waking up several times, as Snopes has previously reported, the audio has been edited to include the fart sound. The original video includes no audible fart noise, nor proof that Trump woke himself up in such a manner. An Instagram account that describes its content as satirical in nature appeared to first post the version featuring the fart sound. As such, the claim originated as satire.
As we previously reported, a White House spokesperson speaking via email denied that Trump fell asleep at the Oval Office event and blamed the rumor on "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
Origin of edited video
The Instagram account @the28yearoldmale posted what appears to be the earliest example of the edited footage (archived). A manager for the page describes its content as "Satire/Parody." The profile also features several videos purportedly showing Trump "farting," indicating that it is an ongoing satirical theme on the account.
Snopes has contacted a manager of The 28 Year Old Male Instagram account for confirmation that it created the edited footage. We will update this article if we receive a response.
The original footage
The original footage also shows the fart sound had been edited into the video in question. Snopes reported that Trump appeared to fall asleep at a June 4 Oval Office event during which he announced a plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the coal industry.
We looked closely at the footage that The White House published on YouTube and found the moment in question at the 21:00 mark. At 21:07, Trump lifts his head, with his eyes still closed, before shifting forward. At 21:13 he opens his eyes and purses his lips. At 21:34 he begins speaking again. At no point could a fart sound be heard, proving that it had been added to the edited version circulating online.
We also reported that Trump very slightly or moderately nods off, eyes closed, at several points in the original footage, and also nods up and down in recognition of other speakers' remarks, while at other times he is still.
Toward the end of the event, Trump spoke to reporters before asking EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to speak again. Zeldin spoke for around 40 minutes, during which Trump appeared visibly alert, a contrast to when his eyes were closed in the earlier parts of the video.
For further reading, we have reported on Trump actually falling asleep during a December 2025 Cabinet meeting. We also examined footage of him supposedly falling asleep at a May 2026 Memorial Day ceremony, as well as claims that he passed gas in a courtroom during his 2024 trial.
This story relies on additional reporting from Jordan Liles.