Did Trump fall asleep during meeting with Erdogan? We examined footage

By Nur Ibrahim - 7/9/2026, 7:59 PM - 541 words

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Faulty reasoning signals

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The presidents of the U.S. and Turkey had a bilateral meeting during the NATO summit in July 2026.

Published July 9, 2026

Image courtesy of The White House, accessed via YouTube, illustrated by Snopes.

Video authentically shows U.S. President Donald Trump falling asleep during a bilateral meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2026.

The footage shared with the claim cuts out the interpreter on Trump's right. Trump, who is leaning to his right and nodding, is listening to the interpreter.

On July 7, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the NATO summit in Turkey. Numerous posts claimed footage of their meeting showed Trump falling asleep on camera.

A Facebook post from journalist Don Lemon referenced the numerous times Trump was caught seemingly asleep on camera: "Trump once again fell asleep while meeting with Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan." The clip ( archived ) in question shows Trump leaning to his right and seemingly nodding off:

While the above video is authentic, it does not show Trump falling asleep. The footage in the claim has been cropped from the sides. The real video shows Trump leaning to his right to listen to an interpreter translating Erdogan's words for him. As such, we rate this claim as miscaptioned.

We looked closely at the White House's livestream of the meeting. Both presidents have translators seated on chairs behind them. When Trump spoke in English, the woman behind Erdogan would lean forward to translate for the Turkish leader.

The moment in question occurs around the 13:00 mark. Each time Erdogan begins speaking or a journalist asks a question in Turkish, Trump leans to listen to the translation. Because his eyes are lowered, it could appear as though he is sleeping.

We looked through the entire video and found no evidence of Trump actually falling asleep in that particular meeting. At several instances Trump leans to his right to listen to the man speaking at his side.

Trump began the NATO summit with criticisms of U.S. allies but left it declaring "a lot of love" between those same allies. NATO leaders reiterated their commitment to defend each other if the need arose.

This is not the first time Trump has faced accusations of napping in public. Snopes previously covered several such claims, including some in which Trump actually appeared to have dozed off.

Esposito, Joey. "7 Rumors about Trump Falling Asleep, Examined." Snopes, 28 June 2026, https://www.snopes.com//collections/trump-falling-asleep-claims/. Accessed 9 July 2026.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Trump Dozed off in Oval Office. Did He Wake Himself up with a Fart, as Video Allegedly Shows?" Snopes, 8 June 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-video-sleeping-fart/. Accessed 9 July 2026.

Liles, Jordan. "Do Videos Show Trump Falling Asleep during Cabinet Meeting?" Snopes, 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-fall-asleep-cabinet-meeting/. Accessed 9 July 2026.

"President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the President of the Republic of Turkey ." YouTube, The White House, 7 July 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I2NSFzqFCk. Accessed 9 July 2026.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan