Fact Check: NO EVIDENCE Photo Of Donald Trump Sleeping With His Mouth Open During Fourth Of July Fireworks Is Real

No Snooze Here

Does a real photo show President Donald Trump sleeping with his mouth open during Fourth of July fireworks in Washington, D.C.? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the image depicts an actual moment in which the president dozed off, which seems unlikely during a display featuring 850,000 fireworks and pyrotechnic effects at the "Salute to America 250" celebration on the National Mall. Aside from identical versions of the image shared on social media, no professional photos of the event show Trump asleep with his mouth open.

The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @LucasSa56947288 account on X on July 5, 2026. It read:

This was Donald Trump last night!

He went to sleep while the fireworks were displayed in Washington DC.

So embarrassing!

This is what the image in the post looked like:

(Image source: post by @LucasSa56947288 on X.)

AI indicators

A close look at the image reveals at least one sign that it was generated using AI:

• Unnatural skin texture: The skin appears too smooth and plastic-like, which is common in AI-generated images.

A reverse image search (archived here) using Google Images found dozens of "exact matches" on social media showing Trump sleeping with his mouth open, but none from members of the press corps covering the event. On the Getty Images website (archived here), a Lead Stories search found more than 30 photographs of the president and his family at the celebration watching the fireworks. They show him standing, sitting, with his eyes open, and with his eyes closed. None matches the image showing his head tilted back and his mouth open.

These two Getty images come the closest, but neither is a direct match.

Image one (archived here):

(Image source: Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images.)

Image two (archived here):

(Image source: Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images.)

News reports

Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) and found no matching reports from credible news outlets containing the terms "Trump," "mouth open," and "fireworks." No credible news organizations have reported the claim.