White House denies Donald Trump fell asleep at Lindsey Graham’s funeral
The White House has angrily denied claims Donald Trump fell asleep during the funeral of friend and ally Lindsey Graham.
Several times throughout the service at Washington National Cathedral, the president could be seen struggling to keep his eyes open.
President Donald Trump with his eyes closed at Lindsey Graham’s funeral. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
At times his head was drooped over and his eyes were closed.
But White House spokesman Davis Ingle hit back at suggestions the president had dozed off.
“President Trump was reflecting on the loss of his dear friend Lindsey Graham, for whom he had just delivered a beautiful eulogy,” Ingle told HuffPost.
“Anyone suggesting otherwise is a depraved moron.”
Trump has a long history of appearing to fall asleep in public events.
In May, he closed his eyes for an extended period of time as people were talking around him in the Oval Office.
In December, the president appeared to fall asleep during a televised cabinet meeting.
He later remarked he wasn’t asleep, just bored.
He also reportedly had trouble keeping his eyes open during an Oval Office event with pharmaceutical executives in April.
Donald Trump and JD Vance at Lindsey Graham’s funeral. Volodymyr Zelensky can be seen in the background. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Trump also gave a eulogy at the funeral, in which he deviated from the script to criticise Graham.
“Virtually everyone, Republican or Democrat, liked Lindsey,” Trump said.
“Well, not everybody, but it sounds good. Not everybody.
“He was a tough cookie, ok, I have to veer from this for a second.”
Trump recounted a nasty clash he had with Graham in 2016 when they were both running for president.
“I did something that I shouldn’t have done. And I shared his personal cell phone number with the millions of people that happened to be watching that particular day,” Trump said.
“And I remember the number.”
Trump then said the late senator’s phone number to the congregation.
“If anybody wants to give it a shot,” Trump said.
“That was the beginning of a friendship in a way.
“But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh. Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next ten years.”
Graham had a close but complex relationship with Donald Trump. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Graham, a long-serving senator from the state of South Carolina, was a strong advocate in Washington for Israel, Ukraine, and US military involvement in Iran and Iraq.
“He never saw a war that he didn’t like,” Trump said in his eulogy.
“Only his true friends would understand that.”
Also in attendance at the funeral was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had what appeared to be a tense exchange at Lindsey Graham’s funeral. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The front pews of the church were filled with members of Trump’s cabinet, including JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth.
Graham died unexpectedly earlier this month at the age of 71.
The senator died of an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease the DC chief medical examiner concluded.
He was replaced in the Senate by his sister Darline Graham, who announced after her appointment that she would run for a full term in November.
Graham will be farewelled with a private funeral in South Carolina.
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