They say the eyes are the windows to the soul — and if they're right, Donald Trump might be in some serious trouble.
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00:00They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and if they're right,
00:03Donald Trump might be in some serious trouble. During his first debate with Vice President
00:08Kamala Harris, all attention seemed to be on Donald Trump, and not just because of stuff like this.
00:13"'They're eating the dogs.'"
00:15Instead, within just a few minutes of the beginning of the debate,
00:18everybody was talking about the former president's eyes. As commentary poured in on X,
00:23folks voiced a variety of opinions regarding Trump's appearance. Most people agreed on
00:27one thing, however. Something seemed off about the way he looked. One X user wrote,
00:32"'Trump can't keep his eyes open.' What is that about?"
00:34Another said,
00:35"'Is Trump awake?' He finally opened his eyes 30 minutes in."
00:38If Trump's strange look was a result of tiredness, it wouldn't come as a surprise to many. Many
00:43pointed out that he'd looked exhausted in court back in April during his criminal fraud trial,
00:48and he seemed equally sleepy at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
00:52"'Good night, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.'"
00:59It's worth remembering that Trump likely underwent countless hours of debate prep
01:03to get ready for the monumental night, and it probably didn't help that he's 78 years old.
01:07Even so, looking tired and lacking energy and enthusiasm while in a debate
01:12isn't a good look, especially for someone debating an opponent nearly 20 years his junior.
01:16But while the possibility that Trump's look came down to tiredness makes for bad optics,
01:21some theories suggested an even worse scenario. People on social media are never afraid of
01:26sharing a conspiracy theory or two. So perhaps it's no surprise that Trump's debate appearance
01:31sparked a few. One X user wrote,
01:33"'Watch Trump's eyes. Someone is talking in his ear while she is speaking.'"
01:37Another suggested,
01:38"'Trump looks positively reptilian tonight. His eyes are half-closed and blank.
01:42I half-expect him to stick out his forked tongue.'"
01:45"'I am the Lizard Queen!''
01:47And while many viewers took note of Donald Trump's tired, unfocused eyes during the
01:51presidential debate, others were more focused on his approach to eye contact.
01:55Kamala Harris notably made the first move of the debate when she approached Trump at
01:59his podium to shake his hand. Trump, on the other hand, seemed less eager to meet the
02:03vice president for a handshake. As far as many viewers were concerned, this dynamic
02:07subtly continued throughout the debate. One X user wrote,
02:10"'Trump can't even look her in the eyes.'"
02:13Another said,
02:13"'20 minutes in.' Harris looked at Trump many times where he didn't move his eyes away from
02:18the moderators."
02:19Another person even suggested that Harris should have addressed the lack of eye contact,
02:23writing,
02:23"'Need Kamala to tell Trump to look me in the eyes when you're talking.'"
02:27We may never know exactly what was behind the odd look in Trump's eyes during the debate. Still,
02:31we can likely all agree that, whatever is going on, Trump himself would probably have
02:36preferred everyone focused less on his distracting look and more on his words.
02:40They're eating the cats.