US President Donald Trump ended a cabinet meeting early, calling previous lengthy sessions ‘pretty boring’ and denying he had fallen asleep during them.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump cut short a cabinet meeting on Thursday, declaring previous marathon sessions were “pretty boring.”
He denied claims he had been caught napping during earlier gatherings, one of which lasted over three hours. “Look, it got pretty boring. I love these people, but there’s a lot of people,” Trump said.
“But I didn’t sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell out of here.” His opening monologue on Thursday lasted 25 minutes, after which he said not all officials would speak.
This contrasted with a previous meeting where his team took turns praising him for over three hours. Trump’s critics have compared such sessions to North Korea, with officials competing to hail his leadership.
The 79-year-old president has appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open in some meetings, raising questions about his health. He is the oldest person ever elected US president.
Trump has pushed back against questions over his vigor. He also blamed “boring as hell” cabinet meetings for looking sleepy in a recent magazine interview.
This week’s meeting lasted one hour and 20 minutes, relatively short for Trump. He also declined to take questions from reporters at the end.
That meant no awkward queries for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who is facing scrutiny over the killing of a protester by immigration agents.
It also avoided questions on Trump’s escalating threats of military action against Iran. Among the officials not called to speak was Noem.
