Has any president been photographed sleeping while on duty in the Oval Office before 2025?
Executive summary
Photographs and videos showing presidents apparently dozing at public events have circulated for years, but available reporting shows no verified instance before 2025 of a sitting U.S. president conclusively photographed asleep at his Oval Office desk; widely shared images of Joe Biden asleep in the Oval Office were debunked as digitally altered by Reuters, AFP and PolitiFact [1] [2] [3]. In 2025, multiple outlets documented President Donald Trump appearing to close his eyes or nod off during Oval Office events and a cabinet meeting, prompting contemporaneous coverage and fact-focused pushback from the White House [4] [5] [6].
1. Historic claims vs. verified evidence
People have long shared images suggesting presidents asleep on duty, but fact-checkers traced several high-profile examples to manipulation rather than reality. Reuters reported a viral 2021 image of Joe Biden asleep in the Oval Office was digitally created [1]. AFP also found a doctored image that combined a 2011 photo of Biden dozing with a 2021 Oval Office scene [2]. PolitiFact reviewed a viral picture and concluded there was no evidence Biden had been photographed sleeping at his Oval Office desk on Jan. 20, 2021 [3]. These three organizations explicitly attribute the circulated Biden images to editing or miscaptioning rather than an authentic Oval Office nap [1] [2] [3].
2. The 2025 reporting: Trump appearing to doze in Oval Office events
In late 2025, major outlets documented instances when President Donald Trump appeared to shut his eyes during public Oval Office events. The New York Times described him as “appearing to fight sleep” at a cabinet meeting and noted prior Oval Office moments in November when he seemed to doze [4]. People magazine and The Guardian similarly reported images and video of Trump closing his eyes during a televised Oval Office announcement and during a cabinet meeting, and recorded the White House’s responses defending him as attentive [5] [6]. Those accounts treat the footage as contemporaneous evidence of him appearing to nod off rather than alleging image tampering [4] [5] [6].
3. How outlets and officials framed the moments
Coverage split between straightforward description and partisan interpretation. News outlets like The New York Times and People described the behavior (eyes closed, head bowed) and noted White House denials that he had fallen asleep, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he was “listening attentively” [4] [5]. Opinion and campaigning voices used the clips to question fitness or to mock; others urged restraint and defended the president, illustrating the political stakes in how such images circulate [6] [5].
4. What the fact checks say about past viral images
Fact-checkers established a pattern: when images of presidents asleep in the Oval Office emerged before 2025, investigation frequently found manipulation or context missing. Reuters’ detailed image analysis concluded the Biden Oval Office photo was altered [1]. AFP traced the composite and published a side-by-side comparison showing the face was inserted from a 2011 event [2]. PolitiFact found no corroborating schedule or video to support claims that Biden was photographed asleep at his desk, and pointed to the original AP photo that showed him awake [3].
5. Limits of current reporting and open questions
Available sources do not mention any verified, unaltered photograph before 2025 showing a sitting president asleep at his Oval Office desk; instead, they document doctored images [1] [2] [3] and—in 2025—real-time footage of President Trump appearing to close his eyes during Oval Office events [4] [5] [6]. Reporting does not resolve intent (sleep, prayer, rest of eyes) beyond visual observation and official statements; outlets relied on video frames and contemporaneous accounts rather than medical or independent forensic confirmation [4] [5].
6. Why this matters: image, truth and political advantage
The persistence of doctored images and the rapid spread of short video clips means a single frame can become shorthand for competence or weakness. Fact-checkers (Reuters, AFP, PolitiFact) prioritized image forensics and original-source verification to rebut false narratives about Biden [1] [2] [3]. Conversely, credible video and multiple outlet coverage in 2025 documented Trump’s apparent dozing in the Oval Office, which opponents amplified and allies pushed back against—showing how identical visual phenomena are litigated differently depending on sourcing and politics [4] [5] [6].
If you want, I can compile the specific images, video timestamps and the fact-check comparisons cited above into a timeline for closer inspection.