President Donald Trump made a high-profile appearance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday — and video quickly spread appearing to show him nodding off courtside, prompting a California congressman to loop in the Secretary of State.
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Rep. Ted Lieu tagged Marco Rubio directly, writing simply: “cc: @SecRubio” — and attaching the viral clip. That’s because, at a recent grilling before lawmakers, Rubio denied ever seeing the president sleeping in public.
Lieu wasn’t the only one to mark the occasion. Mockery was spreading quickly.
Republicans Against Trump delivered the most pointed line: “WOW. Trump fell asleep at MSG during Game 3 of the NBA Finals. They don’t call him Sleepy Don for nothing.”
Josh Burwick, a political commentator, went with a direct riff on Trump’s military title: “Donald Trump the commander in sleep falls asleep at the NBA finals game!”
Amy Siskind, a political activist and author, connected Trump’s apparent nap to his insistence to attend the major sporting event in person rather than watch from home. “OMG, after ALL THAT, Trump is sleeping at the Knicks game!” she wrote. “Couldn’t he have saved everyone the trouble and ‘watch it on television?'”
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MeidasTouch, the liberal political media outlet, offered a more charitable read: “Trump takes a long blink during the NBA Finals.”
Legion Hoops, a basketball media account, kept it simple: “Donald Trump looks like he’s falling asleep during Game 3 of the Finals.”
Call to Activism’s original clip of Trump closing his eyes drew more than 11 million views in roughly eight hours.
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