Mary Trump, former President Trump’s niece, joked that she’s concerned narcolepsy runs in the family after rumors of her uncle falling asleep in court this week came to light.
The former president seemed to doze off during his first day of the New York hush money criminal trial. The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported Monday that the former president “appeared to nod off a few times” amid a court appearance, “his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.”
“I’m a little worried that narcolepsy runs in the family,” Trump said on “The Dean Obeidallah Show” on SiriusXM Wednesday, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
Trump said that she thinks that “we can’t underestimate the extent of the depth of the narcissistic injury” her uncle is “suffering” amid the trial.
“One, he’s in a situation in which has no control, and worse, he is under the control of somebody else,” Trump continued. “There is somebody else in that room with all of the authority, and he has none. So, that’s already problematic for him.”
The hush money trial began Monday, marking the first criminal trial of an American president. The former president has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to reimbursements to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who paid an adult film actor $130,000 prior to the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump, which he denies.
Following the second day of jury selection in his trial, the former president referred to the reimbursements as a “legal expense,” putting some blame on his accountants.
“I was paying a lawyer, and we marked it down as a legal expense — some accountant. I didn’t know,” Trump told reporters. “Mark it down as a legal expense. That’s exactly what it was. And you get indicted over that?”