"I’m just pregnant, you weirdos," Franklin wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding laughing emojis.

The uproar began after the 80-year-old US president appeared sleepy during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office, closing his eyes and bowing his head while National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya was speaking.

Jamie Leigh Franklin, who currently runs the lifestyle publication The Conservateur, was standing directly behind the president. Broadcast footage showed her periodically touching her stomach.

This gesture instantly sparked a storm of online conspiracy theories. One viral post on X claimed: "Word is she has a button strapped to her belly. When nodded to that he’s drifting, she moves her hand and presses the button to wake him. They call her 'The Zapper.' No clue if true, but it's convincing."

The White House Response to "Sleepy" Incidents

This is far from the first time the press and social media have scrutinized Trump’s demeanor in public.

Previously, the White House vehemently denied rumors that the president fell asleep during the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham at the Washington National Cathedral. White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle told reporters that the head of state was simply "grieving the loss of a dear friend." Ingle added, "Anyone who suggests otherwise is a moral bankrupt."

Donald Trump himself has previously offered a simple explanation for such photos. In a January interview with The Wall Street Journal, he joked about photographers: "Sometimes they just take a picture of me blinking. They catch me with my eyes closed."