Trump 2028? He can’t even stay awake

Even ignoring the Constitution, Trump’s stamina is already failing.

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One of the details that keeps getting lost in the growing chatter about “Trump 2028” is also a simple one.

Even if you set aside the Constitution and pretend there is some clever interpretation of term limits that would allow Donald Trump to run again and serve again. Even if you can somehow suspend reality long enough to imagine that part working out, there is still a much bigger problem.

Donald Trump can barely stay awake now.

The part no one wants to talk about

Trump falls asleep in public with striking regularity. Not metaphorically. Not as a rhetorical flourish. Literally falling asleep.

A recent piece in The Bulwark cut through the usual speculation and focused on something very basic: Trump’s visible inability to stay awake during the workday. According to their reporting, Trump closed his eyes for a combined total of roughly six minutes during a recent cabinet meeting. This was not late at night. It was not after a long overseas trip. It happened during a routine, formal meeting where people were actively praising him.

The New York Times noticed. Trump noticed that the New York Times noticed. And Trump is reportedly furious that it is being covered at all.

That reaction tells you something on its own.

The math republicans cannot escape

Trump is 79 years old now and in about six months, he will be 80. If he were to begin another term in 2029, he would be 82 years old on day one.

Republicans made age and energy the central weapon against Joe Biden. Every pause, every stumble, every bad moment was framed as evidence of incapacity. And while Biden clearly was declining, there was never serious doubt that he could perform the basic functions of the job.

Trump is now showing many of the same warning signs, and the response on the right has been very different.

The silence is the tell

When The Bulwark asked Republican lawmakers about Trump falling asleep, most refused to comment. Senator Rick Scott said he had not heard about it. When told there was video, he said he was not going to watch it.

Senator Lisa Murkowski did comment, pointing to Trump’s terrible sleep habits as a possible explanation. And those habits are well documented. Trump regularly posts on Truth Social late into the night and early in the morning.

So we have a president rage posting when he should be sleeping and struggling to stay awake during the workday. In almost any other job, this would trigger an uncomfortable meeting with HR, raise questions about health, judgment, and capacity.

In Trump’s case, it gets shrugged off or ignored.

This is not a one time thing

Trump has fallen asleep in court during his criminal trial, he has fallen asleep in meetings, and he has reportedly fallen asleep in the Oval Office. This is a pattern of our President being too tired, too sick, or too overwhelmed to keep his eyes open and do his job.

If this were Joe Biden, conservative media would be running non stop graphics and countdown clocks with wall to wall coverage. Instead, there is nervous laughter, deflection, and silence.

That silence matters.

The fantasy of Trump 2028

Despite all of this, you still hear serious talk about Trump running again. Steve Bannon openly muses about redefining term limits. Figures like the president of the New York Young Republican Club talk about being “prepared” to endorse Trump in 2028.

So let’s set aside the legal reality that third terms are not allowed.

The real problem is that Trump does not look mentally or physically capable of another term. He is already struggling to remain conscious through routine meetings. He reportedly works a limited daily schedule, and his stamina appears to be declining, not improving.

Republicans know this which is why they dodge the question and why the jokes keep replacing serious answers.

The reality playing out in plain sight

The jokes and memes about Trump 2028 completely ignore reality.

Trump is not a man gearing up for another four-year grind. This is a man who is visibly struggling just to get through the current one.

You can argue ideology. You can argue policy.

You cannot argue with someone falling asleep on the job.

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