Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Viral image
Viral image
stated on August 6, 2024 a Threads post:

Photo shows former President Donald Trump “asleep at the 2017 NATO summit.”

False
By Ciara O'Rourke
August 9, 2024

You can sleep on this claim that former President Donald Trump dozed at the 2017 NATO summit

If your time is short

  • This photo’s official caption says former President Donald Trump was looking down, not sleeping. 

See the sources for this fact-check

An old photo of former President Donald Trump, sitting with his head bowed, is being shared anew on social media and presented as evidence that he was caught sleeping at a 2017 NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was seated next to Trump, is turned toward the then-president in the image. 

“Remember that time when Trump fell asleep at the 2017 NATO summit? That was embarrassing,” an Aug. 6 Threads post said.

But the official caption of the photo, taken by photographer Robert Ghement, tells a different story. 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Ghement took the photo in May 2017 at what was then the new NATO headquarters in Belgium. 

The photo’s caption says Stoltenberg “chats with US President Donald J. Trump … who looks down during the inauguration ceremony of the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.” 

We reviewed video footage of the ceremony, during which Stoltenberg gave a speech, and saw no evidence that Trump fell asleep. Trump was recorded looking at his phone, sitting as he appears in Ghement’s photo and with his arms crossed. But not snoozing. 

We looked for but found no credible evidence, such as news stories or footage, showing Trump asleep.

We rate claims this photo shows Trump sleeping at the 2017 NATO summit False.

 
Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke
Viral image
stated on April 2, 2025 a Facebook post:
“White hats to investigate Wisconsin Supreme Court election.”
False
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Photo shows a missing police officer in “extreme danger.”
Pants on Fire!
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Images show damage from an “earthquake in Thailand.”
False

You can sleep on this claim that former President Donald Trump dozed at the 2017 NATO summit





Donald Trump
stated on May 4, 2026 a White House event:








Donald Trump
stated on April 23, 2026 remarks at the White House:







Chris Wright
stated on April 19, 2026 an interview on CNN's "State of the Union":