A White House spokesman issued a strong rebuke against those suggesting President Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep after delivering a eulogy at Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral on Tuesday, calling such claims the product of a "depraved moron."
Numerous images and videos circulated following the funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, appearing to show Trump closing his eyes during the service.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told HuffPost that Trump was "reflecting on the loss of his dear friend Lindsey Graham." Ingle added, "Anyone suggesting otherwise is a depraved moron."
The incident adds to a list of past occasions where Trump has appeared to doze off during public events. In the previous month, he seemed to fall asleep during an Oval Office event focused on the separation of church and state. Weeks prior, Trump was observed to be opening and closing his eyes abruptly during a briefing with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. In May, during an Oval Office event on maternal health, Trump's apparent napping was explained by the White House as him "blinking." Earlier in the year, he was also seen appearing to snooze during a meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, D.C.