Trump’s Courtroom Napping Not A Problem For Republicans On Capitol Hill

Perhaps as planned, the lingering public image thus far of Donald Trump’s trial in New York City on charges that he falsified business documents may be his daily diatribes from behind metal bike racks to assembled television cameras.

But another image, less familiar because of courtroom restrictions on photography, will also remain for some: a peaceful, 77-year-old Trump, eyes closed serenely, silently napping as his legal fate is argued around him.

Though Trump has made President Joe Biden’s stamina a staple of his presidential campaign attacks, Republicans on Capitol Hill told HuffPost they don’t have any similar qualms about Trump, even as he’s slept through much of a criminal trial where each of the 34 felony counts against him could in theory result in at least a year in prison. The trial is nearing its end this week , with closing arguments set to begin Tuesday.

“Donald Trump runs on motor oil, by the way. He runs on motor oil. He’s a machine,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told HuffPost when asked about the significance of the naps.

“We ought to be talking about Sleepy Joe,” Nehls said, using one of Trump’s favored monikers for Biden.

“It’s not even close between Trump and Biden,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who recently announced his desire to become the next Republican leader in the Senate, a bid that could be buoyed by his closeness to Trump.

“No sane person in this country is going to vote for Biden,” Scott said.

None of the Republicans queried brought up Trump’s defense of his apparent napping: that he wasn’t actually asleep at all.

“I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” Trump posted on his social media site in an apparent response to the accounts of