Gavin Newsom Taunts Trump for ‘Nodding Off’ During White House Meeting

President Donald Trump is facing a new wave of ridicule and concern after appearing to fall asleep during a White House roundtable this week — an awkward moment that California Governor Gavin Newsom quickly turned into a viral jab.

“Honestly thought this was a still image when I first started watching,” Newsom quipped on X (formerly Twitter), sharing the clip of a visibly weary Trump struggling to keep his eyes open during a discussion on Antifa. His office later doubled down with a second post reading in all caps: “DOZY DON IS BACK! TOO MUCH TYLENOL??”

Honestly thought this was a still image when I first started watching https://t.co/FBJZLpfDuC

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 8, 2025

The exchange ignited social media, with “Dozy Don” trending within hours — a mocking twist on Trump’s long-favorite nickname for Joe Biden, “Sleepy Joe.”

The footage shows the 79-year-old president sitting motionless, eyes fluttering shut as others spoke around him. Attendees said Trump had convened the conservative roundtable to discuss Antifa and “domestic unrest,” but his lack of focus became the main story.

“It was honestly uncomfortable,” one participant told The Washington Post on background. “He seemed disconnected, like he was somewhere else entirely.”

The moment was reminiscent of a similar 2024 campaign event when Trump briefly froze on stage during a rally in Des Moines — prompting aides to later insist he was simply “pausing for effect.”

Now, critics are reviving long-whispered questions about Trump’s mental sharpness. Several Washington insiders told Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh that the president’s “increasing mental disorganization” has alarmed even loyal staff.

“His attention span has collapsed,” Hersh wrote on Substack, quoting one former aide who said Trump “can’t stay focused for more than five minutes unless it’s about himself.”

Trump, who often brags about his stamina and insists he’s in “perfect mental shape,” has continued to boast about supposedly ending multiple wars since taking office in January — including some conflicts that experts say were already winding down before his involvement.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Harry Segal described Trump’s public behavior as “textbook malignant narcissism compounded by cognitive decline.”

“His ramblings, his inability to connect ideas coherently — these are classic markers of dementia,” Segal told MSNBC Thursday. “You see him confuse basic facts, lose his train of thought, and drift into bizarre tangents about sharks, batteries, and Hannibal Lecter. That’s not showmanship. That’s deterioration.”

Psychotherapist Dr. John Gartner, who helped found the “Duty to Warn” group of mental health professionals during Trump’s first term, said he sees “absolutely no doubt” the president is showing signs of “incipient dementia.”

“This isn’t political,” Gartner emphasized. “We’re watching an elderly man lose touch with reality — and he happens to hold nuclear codes.”

For Governor Newsom, the viral clip marks another escalation in his long-running feud with Trump, who has mocked the California leader as “Gavin Nuisance” for years.

Newsom, often seen as a future presidential contender, has built his national profile by positioning himself as Trump’s sharpest critic on everything from climate policy to immigration.

“This is what happens when a man who should be retired insists on playing president,” a senior California Democrat told Politico. “Newsom doesn’t have to lift a finger — Trump keeps writing the attack ads himself.”

The White House has not commented directly on the footage. Trump’s communications director, Jason Miller, dismissed the uproar as “just another left-wing smear.”

But political observers say the incident could deepen worries about Trump’s capacity to govern as his second term enters its tenth month.

“Trump built his brand by calling others weak,” political analyst Rachel Bitecofer noted. “But after this week, ‘Dozy Don’ might stick harder than he realizes.”