{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreifpbv6gqwadzthdpruifja2x45b77djetnye5aefk7hxf3qyytu7u",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:hxz7l26nqcz7jawyev3eo5um/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnml7ef2bad2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreihehsputrlsubrinjigoddmziqxbpssvahtwdpyjnwezkzfxcpifa"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 71892
  },
  "path": "/politics/donald-trump-appeared-to-fall-asleep-at-a-coal-event-and-the-energy-secretary-kept-talking-while-gripping-the-presidents-chair/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-06T10:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://attackofthefanboy.com",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "Politics",
    "Donald Trump",
    "Marco Rubio",
    "Nine News",
    "Defense Production Act",
    "anti-weaponization fund",
    "Freedom 250 rally lineup"
  ],
  "textContent": "Donald Trump appeared to nod off during a high-profile Oval Office event on Thursday, the latest in a string of incidents that have drawn public attention to the president’s alertness in official settings. As detailed by Nine News, the incident occurred during a meeting centered on a major funding announcement for the coal industry. While the energy secretary was actively speaking and gripping the president’s chair, Trump’s eyes grew heavy and remained shut for extended periods.\n\nAt one point, the president’s head was turned away from the speaker, his eyes firmly closed while the event continued around him. This follows a similar episode from just the previous month, when he appeared to drift off during an Oval Office event promoting maternal health and fertility.\n\nThe occasion for Thursday’s meeting was the announcement of $980 million in grants directed toward the coal industry. The administration is utilizing the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era statute originally enacted on September 8, 1950 and requested by President Harry Truman following the outbreak of the Korean War, to push the funding through. Over the decades, the definition of national defense under the law has expanded to cover emergency preparedness, energy production, and construction.\n\n## The president’s coal funding push is facing sharp criticism from Democrats and environmental groups\n\nBy invoking the Defense Production Act, the administration plans to keep 14 coal plants open while funding the construction of two additional ones. During the event, Trump stated, “Coal’s a great business,” and added, “In terms of power, there’s really nothing like it.” He also noted that the grants would go to states he won. Coal production in the United States has been cut roughly in half since 2008, largely as renewable energy and natural gas have become more cost-effective alternatives.\n\nThe move drew immediate criticism from environmental groups. Patrick Drupp of the Sierra Club said the administration was “giving away our taxpayer dollars to deadly and expensive coal plants that will make Americans sicker and drive up electricity prices even more.” He further said the move “betrays everything Donald Trump promised and only serves his Big Coal buddies.” Amid wider political battles over how federal money is being directed, six GOP senators recently moved to block Trump’s $1.6 billion anti-weaponization fund from being revived.\n\nDemocratic lawmakers also pushed back hard. Senator Ed Markey said, “While your electricity bills are going up and taking cash out of your budget, Trump is stealing out of our national wallet, using taxpayer dollars to pay for polluting, expensive, and unnecessary coal plants.” He added, “We need to save Americans’ money, not give it to Trump’s fossil donors.”\n\nThe question of Trump’s alertness had already come up in a congressional setting just days earlier. During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on June 3, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted he had never seen the president fall asleep, saying, “On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem.”\n\nDemocratic congressman Ted Lieu then played a video appearing to show the president asleep next to Rubio during a prior cabinet meeting. Lieu told Rubio, “You are literally talking about issues of war and peace and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you.” Trump, who has been in the news separately for his Freedom 250 rally lineup after several artists pulled out, has not publicly responded to Lieu’s remarks.\n\nLieu also said the incidents were affecting how other countries perceive the president’s leadership, stating that foreign nations “mock him” over his inability to stay awake on the job. Rubio did not directly address the video footage during the hearing.",
  "title": "Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep at a coal event, and the energy secretary kept talking while gripping the president’s chair"
}