Trump fawns over his own ‘beautiful blue eyes’ as he denies falling asleep at trial

Donald Trump has hit back at reports that he has dozed off during his high-profile criminal trial in New York, claiming that at times he simply closes his “beautiful blue eyes”.

The former president insisted that, while his eyes may be closed on occasion, he is listening “intensely” and taking it “ALL in!” in a self-complimentary social media post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

It comes following several reports from journalists inside the courtroom, including a reporter from The Independent, present throughout proceedings, that Mr Trump fell asleep during the first day of his historic trial in Manhattan – which is now in its third week.

The alleged slumber was also captured in a court sketch of the weary former president, which showed him with his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side.

“Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked DA’s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” Mr Trump wrote on 2 May.

His furious denial echoes that of his campaign, who previously blasted the claims in a statement to The Independent as “100% Fake News coming from ‘journalists’ who weren’t even in the courtroom.”

Despite this, the observations quickly prompted an onslaught of nicknames and jokes on social media, including the moniker “Sleepy Don” and “Don Snoreleone”.

The former refers to Mr Trump’s penchant for referring to his political rival President Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe” on the campaign trail. The latter is a reference to fictional mafia boss Don Corleone in the hit film series The Godfather.

Several US late-night TV hosts have also ridiculed the former president’s apparent inability to keep his eyes open during