Donald Trump jokes he was 'falling asleep' during Iran war meeting

Keeping your eyes open while plotting a war against one of America's arch enemies might seem like the bare minimum for the Commander-in-Chief, but Donald Trump revealed this week that he was drifting off during a key planning meeting.

It is not uncommon to catch President Trump 'resting his eyes', with photographers capturing the 79-year-old catching some Zs back in November during an Oval Office press call about GLP-1 weight loss drugs.

But Trump admitted, or joked, at a political rally on Wednesday, March 11, that he was struggling to stay awake while being briefed by the military's top brass on the now carried-out plans to attack Iran and destroy its political leadership.

The president spoke to the Kentucky crowd about the build-up to war. Mimicking the officials, he started saying: "They gave me a list of names to choose, 'Sir, you can pick the name you'd like sir.' I said, 'the name of what?'

Trump said the officials responded: "The name of the attack on Iran, sir."

He then candidly revealed that he found the whole ordeal of naming the conflict to be a total bore. “And they gave me, like, 20 names, and I’m like, falling asleep," he shared with the crowd.

The president revealed something of his psychology in which name jumped out to him, with him adding: "I didn’t like any of them. Then I see ‘Epic Fury.’ I said, ‘I like that name. I like that name.’ ”

While Trump was clearly joking with his audience, his description of events does match previous incidents and even statements given by the president himself.

Back in December, further footage showed the oldest president ever to be elected also apparently nodding off. Naturally, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described Trump's performance in the meeting as 'amazing'.

President Trump explains how he selected the name for "Operation Epic Fury":

"They gave me like 20 names. And I'm like falling asleep. I didn't like any of them. Then I see Epic Fury. I said, 'I like that name!'" pic.twitter.com/kpD9dG40Rk

— The American Conservative (@amconmag) March 11, 2026

She added: “President Trump was listening attentively and running the entire three-hour marathon Cabinet meeting." But the president himself has all but admitted to finding many of the meetings in his schedule to be dull.

In an interview with New York magazine in January, Trump admitted “It’s boring as hell.

“I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening. I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out.”

But after being pressed on the issue in another interview that same month, this time with the Wall Street Journal, President Trump blamed the photographers. He said: "Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking.

"And they'll catch me with the blink."

With the number of American military personnel killed as a result of 'Operation Epic Fury' rising to 11 today, following the as-yet unexplained crash of a KC-135 refueling plane in an incident with another aircraft over Iraq, there will be many military families who are hoping that the president is sitting up and listening.