On Monday, President Donald Trump swung open the doors to the Oval Office to trot out what he called a historic victory for American workers. Yet by late afternoon, talk of that victory had largely faded from the conversation.
Television cameras captured the president, appearing as though he were in a struggle with his own eyelids. It’s become a familiar image, coming just days after he seemed to drift off while Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at the White House.
But the sleepy moment wasn’t even the oddest part of the scene. Before it ended, Trump had flung insults at a sitting governor, mocked a rival for the very thing he was doing on camera, and revived an election claim that the numbers have never supported.
On paper, the moment carried substantial weight. According to CBS News, Trump announced that Mesabi Metallics will construct a $15 billion steel plant in eastern Iowa, a project the White House is touting as the largest in American history.
It isn’t slated to start producing steel until 2030, but officials say it will eventually produce about 10 million tons annually and sustain 1,750 permanent jobs.
“I love Iowa. I win Iowa every time,” Trump proclaimed, flanked by Iowa Republicans who were facing tight races less than 40 days before the midterm elections.
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Then he leaned into one of his favorite punchlines. “Sleepy Joe Biden, have you heard of him?” Trump asked the room.
It didn’t take long for the joke to backfire. Footage shared by journalist Aaron Rupar shows Trump slumped behind the Resolute Desk, chin resting on the open binder in front of him, eyes closed as a man at his side kept talking.
The 80-year-old, the oldest person ever sworn in as president, had already found the energy to target another target. The plant will rely on iron ore from Mesabi’s new $2.5 billion Minnesota mine, and Trump couldn’t mention the state without taking a swipe at its Democratic governor, Tim Walz.
“They have one of the worst governors in history, a real stupid guy, but they do have good iron ore, which is more important, I suppose,” he said.
Later, addressing a guest, he brought Walz up again. “How is the governor treating you, because I freed up the iron ore,” Trump asked, before insisting he “absolutely won the election, but they cheat like hell,” an apparent reference to Minnesota. When someone mentioned being in the state about 10 days earlier to inaugurate the mine, Trump mused, “We can supersede the state, right?”
All of that doesn’t hold up well. Minnesota hasn’t backed a Republican for president since Richard Nixon in 1972, and Trump lost it in 2016, 2020, and again in 2024, when he fell short by more than four points. As for the ore, the August executive order Walz signed targets copper and nickel mining near the Boundary Waters, not iron ore.
Online, the Biden jab aged in record time.
“That man is out COLD,” one person wrote.
“MAGA, I need you to take this in. The very thing y’all clowned Joe Biden for, your guy is doing in real time,” another said.
A third predicted, “Republicans will look you in the eye and say this is the hardest-working, high-energy president we’ve ever had.”
“‘So much winning’ the entire country needs a nap,” one joked.
Others focused on the insult. “He’s not talking about someone being stupid, is he… smh,” read one reply.
The announcement itself loses a bit of luster upon closer inspection. Mesabi Metallics is owned by India’s Essar Group, and the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency, will provide up to $10 billion in financing, meaning taxpayers are footing part of the bill, The Guardian reported.
The Minnesota mine took roughly two decades to get off the ground, surviving Essar Steel Minnesota’s 2016 bankruptcy along the way. CNBC also noted that Trump once hailed Foxconn’s $10 billion Wisconsin factory as “the eighth wonder of the world” before the company cut its planned investment to $672 million.
The politics may be shakier than Trump suggested, too. He told Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP’s Iowa Senate hopeful, that he’d seen “good polls,” but a recent Marist poll had her trailing Democrat Josh Turek by eight points.
As for the nodding off, this is well-trodden ground. Earlier this month, his eyes kept fluttering shut during a Sept. 18 Oval Office victory lap as guests took turns praising him.
The White House continues to shrug it off. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted he’s never seen Trump fall asleep, and Trump himself has claimed he’s merely “resting his eyes.”
He can keep labeling Biden “Sleepy Joe.” The cameras keep telling a different story.
