Donald Trump’s bizarre bedtime habits have been revealed in a new book which claims that he sees time as a “flexible concept”. The US President, who turned 80 in mid-June, has been the subject of growing health concerns in recent months, spurred by instances of memory loss, bruising on his hands and appearing to fall asleep in public.
White House correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have now shone fresh light on Mr Trump’s daily routine in their new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. They claim that Mr Trump’s redesign of the White House, which included installing a maximalist gold aesthetic and demolishing the East Wing, extend to the daily rhythm of the official presidential residence.
“Some mornings, Trump would be up early making phone calls and posting on social media while watching TV,” the book reads. “But occasionally, aides couldn’t reach him during the hours between eight and ten, [which] they soon came to realise meant he had stayed up all night, on the phone or watching television or both, only to finally catch some sleep around four or five in the morning.”
It recounts one “late morning” when staff were unable to reach Mr Trump and an aide checked on him only to find that he was “still asleep in the residence”.
Unpredictable sleep schedules are much more a feature of Mr Trump’s second term than his first, according to Ms Haberman and Mr Swan.
“He had never been a big sleeper, but now it seemed to his staff that he was sleeping even less, keeping stranger hours than he had in his first term,” the book says.
It adds that several of the president’s aides have noticed that he is “beginning to seem old”, evident in “repeated bouts of drowsiness during mid-afternoon events”.
His physician Sean Barbabella said Mr Trump has “excellent cognitive health” and is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief in a medical assessment released earlier this year.
Mr Barbabella cited “strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function” and said he had provided the president with preventive care counselling, including guidance on diet and continued weight loss.