Psychologist exposes Trump falling asleep standing up in disaster speech

President Donald Trump delivers remarks ahead of the midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC, November 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ern

President Donald Trump's closing speech on the eve of the midterms was widely derided as an unfocused mess and, according to one psychologist, was also littered with signs of his ongoing decline, including an alarming instance in which he appeared to drift off while standing.

Trump delivered his closing message for the midterms on Monday afternoon in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It quickly became apparent to many viewers that the president was not interested in staying on message, talking about his troubled renovation of the pool for at least the first 10 minutes, and failing to even mention the midterms within the first 20. Some also noted how exhausted and haggard he seemed after a month of traveling for rallies.

Dr. John Paul Garrison is a clinical and forensic psychologist with a specialty in body language, who also makes a series of YouTube videos in which he uses his professional insights to examine the behavior of public figures. Many of his recent videos have concerned Trump, with Garrison suggesting that the president is suffering a severe decline, possibly accelerated by a stroke.

In his latest video from Monday evening, Garrison examined the signs of Trump's continuing decline on display in the Reflecting Pool address, including a particularly "concerning" instance where he seemed to be falling asleep while standing up as he listened to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speak.

"Now you're seeing him start to drift, but you're going to see him what I believe is fully fall asleep in just a minute," Garrison explained, adding later as Trump's eyes seemed to close fully. "I think that he is truly asleep."

"The fact that he's starting to nod off while he is standing is concerning," Garrison added. "In addition to that, the fact that he's able to wake up again so quickly suggests to me that there is some issue with his arousal system, that the pathways related to wakefulness are somehow disrupted, that there's something unusual about the way those are functioning right now."

At one point, Garrison highlighted Trump's attempt to clap after Burgum asked the audience to applaud for the U.S. Park Police, arguing that he appeared "barely conscious." He added that the president also seemed to drift in and out of sleep throughout the entire address from Burgum, as well as some involuntary spasms, an issue that has become increasingly prevalent during his public addresses.

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