Alina Habba, an attorney and spokesperson for former President Trump, said in a Tuesday interview that it was “unlikely” that Trump fell asleep in the courtroom during the first two days of jury selection, despite reports indicating otherwise.
“If anything, he’s probably brutally bored,” Habba told Fox News’s Martha MacCallum, when asked about the reports. “I mean, it’s painful. They make him sit there through jury selection. The first day was procedural.”
“But no, you know, I’ve heard that report. It’s unlikely,” Habba continued. “I know him. I sat through trial after trial with him. That never happens. So President Trump is incredibly focused.”
Trump’s first of four criminal trials began on Monday, with jury selection in a Manhattan courtroom.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with his reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, for paying adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election. The payment was to get her to stay quiet about an alleged affair Trump had with her in 2006.
Trump is required to be present at the trial, including for jury selection, which can be a tedious process. On Monday, Trump at times closed his eyes, appearing to nod off. He also would lean back in his chair motionless with his arms crossed for considerable periods, but opinions differed among members of the press corps about whether the former president was actually asleep.
On Tuesday, Trump at one point had his eyes closed for a few minutes.
Democrats in response have pounced on the former president, who has attacked his 2024 presidential opponent, President Biden, for his age and has even referred to him by the nickname of “Sleepy Joe.”
Kate Bedingfield, former communications director to President Biden, wrote in response to the reporting, “Sleepy Don.”
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