President Joe Biden appeared to doze off during opening speeches at the 26th United Nations’ Climate Change Conference of the Parties.
A video posted by The Washington Post’s Zach Purser Brown shows the president seated, arms crossed, listening to a speech. His eyelids close for a few seconds, and then he opens them and looks around.
Then he closes his eyes again, appearing to nod at one point but otherwise remaining relatively motionless for roughly 20 seconds.
Eventually, an apparent aide walked over and appeared to show the president a note.
After he walked away, Biden was seen rubbing his eyes.
Watch the moment below:
Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches pic.twitter.com/az8NZTWanI
— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) November 1, 2021
Several conservatives on social media sympathized with Biden:
https://twitter.com/nataliejohnsonn/status/1455183390672625675
Hard to blame him… https://t.co/jB8B2fPqIy
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) November 1, 2021
I mean really though who can blame him… https://t.co/d5BNPTcSZN
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) November 1, 2021
In August, Biden was accused of falling asleep during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
However, The Associated Press reported, “During the 14 minute video taken during the meeting, Biden looks down at his lap several times, including when he’s listening and reading from his notepad. The misleading image is captured in one of these moments, giving the impression that Biden is not fully attentive or asleep.”
NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell noted that Biden turns 79 this month and that it did appear Biden’s eyes were closed during the summit.
“It appears that perhaps he was dozing, and in these settings, cameras are all around, and the camera caught President Biden who turns 79 later this month with his eyes closed for a period of time,” she said during an appearance on MSNBC.
MSNBC on Joe Biden falling asleep during climate change conference:
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) November 1, 2021
"These can be embarrassing situations." pic.twitter.com/KRCKLH2mow
She added, “These can be embarrassing situations. You have the contrast of leaders, including President Biden, calling for the urgency of addressing climate, and a moment like that in a session can be a political obstacle for a moment.”
The speeches were scheduled to be at 1:45 p.m. local time.