#SleepyDon Trends: Donald Trump Gets Mocked For 'Falling Asleep' During Stormy Daniels Trial

Donald Trump has finally had his first day in court to be tried on allegations of 34 counts of falsifying business records with regard to hiding hush payments made to adult star Stormy Daniels.

During the trial, the former president of the United States appeared to fall asleep before "jolting" back awake when his lawyer passed him a note.

The billionaire mogul reportedly arrived at the Manhattan courthouse around 9 am ET in the company of his lawyers, including Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.

Trump's trial is just beginning, and the internet is already having a go at the ex-president after he appeared to fall asleep during his hush money trial.

Speaking about the moment, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman wrote in a courtroom update, "Trump appears to be sleeping." She continued, "His head keeps dropping down, and his mouth goes slack."

Haberman further shared that Trump "apparently jolted back awake, noticing the notes his lawyer passed him several minutes ago."

Over on X, users flooded the social media platform with hilarious memes of Trump.

One user wrote, "Honestly, let him sleep. Wheel him into a fake Oval Office on the back nine of Trump National..."

Another user joked if MAGA supporters also "nap" with the ex-president besides "standing" with him.

A third person wrote, "I prefer Presidents who don't fall asleep before the lunch break in their hush money paid to a p-rn star election interference trial."

One more user shared, "If #SleepyDon can't keep his beady little f--king eyes open a couple of hours into a court day, how the fuck is he supposed to be president?!?"

Trump was in court for the first day of his Stormy Daniels trial, where he will be tried on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The billionaire mogul, dressed in a blue suit and red tie, was seen arriving with his team of lawyers led by Blanche. His campaign adviser, Steven Cheung, also arrived in tow.

Judge Juan Merchan, who previously expanded a gag order placed on Trump, is overseeing the case. On the prosecution side are Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his colleagues Susan Hoffinger, Joshua Steinglass, and Matthew Colangelo.

Today's court session centered on the selection of the jury, the 12-member panel that will determine whether Trump is guilty of the accusations.

During the trial, 96 prospective jurors were reportedly brought in for questioning, and 50 were excused after they admitted to being unable to be impartial in the trial.

Just before heading to his seat in the defense section, Trump spoke briefly to reporters outside the court, going on a tirade about the trial being an act of persecution by his political opponents.

"Nobody has ever seen anything like it," the former president said, per The Guardian. "This is political persecution ... it's a case that should have never been brought."

Although Trump refrained from naming names, he went on to say that the trial is also "an assault on America."

He continued, "This is an assault on our country. And it's a country that's failing. It's a country that's run by an incompetent man who's very much involved in this case. This is really an attack on a political opponent. That's all it is. So I'm very honored to be here."

The trial stems from allegations from the prosecution that Trump committed election interference when he allegedly paid $130,000 in hush money to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to hide his affair with her.

They alleged that his actions violated campaign finance law because they were intended to keep valuable information away from US voters right before the 2016 election. The hush money was reportedly paid via Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the records were then falsified as legal fees.

Trump has since denied paying Daniels the money and pleaded not guilty to the 32 counts of charges brought against him. This has remained his stance, despite Daniels going on several interviews alleging that she indeed received the amount from the billionaire mogul to keep mum about their one-night stand.

Before the trial, there were speculations about whether Trump would take the stand to defend himself. Those speculations seemed to receive an answer after Trump claimed he would do so during his recent joint appearance with House Speaker Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago.

"I'll be testifying. I tell the truth, I mean all i can do is tell the truth. The truth is that there is no case," the former president told attendees at the gathering, per MSNBC.

Trump's attorneys, who had earlier suffered failed attempts to postpone the trial, have yet to confirm whether the billionaire mogul will indeed be taking the stand. However, if he does testify, this would not be the first time he has done so, as he made a similar move during his civil case with E. Jean Caroll.

The trial is expected to last six weeks before a verdict is reached. If Trump is convicted of the 34 felony counts in the case, he faces up to 136 years in prison or $170,000 in fines, although it is believed that he would not serve any prison time since he is a first-time offender.