Watch: Trump defends boat attacks, attacks Somali immigrants in final Cabinet meeting of the year

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Tuesday’s White House Cabinet meeting passed two hours later, President Donald Trump’s eyes fluttered shut. His budget director was busy drawing a fluffy cloud. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth was lucky enough to speak early, but the address on his nameplate was misspelled.

Watch in our video player above.

However, the sleepy, and at times vulgar, gathering ended with a flurry of news. Trump declared he did not want Somalis in the United States, and Hegseth cited the “fog of war” in his defense of a subsequent strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea in September.

He watches: Trump says he doesn’t want Somali immigrants in the United States and calls people “trash”

The president kicked things off by noting that this was the last time he would meet his Cabinet until 2026. Although marathon sessions with top advisers lavishing praise have become a Trump trademark since his return to the White House, this final session at times felt like a needed vacation.

Trump made lengthy opening comments in which he largely rehashed his previous major policy announcements from recent months. He also reiterated his old grievances, returning to his lies about his 2020 election victory.

“Go quickly”

The president then gave each Cabinet member a chance to speak, saying, “We’ll go quickly.” This did little to prevent most Cabinet members from making long presentations.

Hegseth went first and praised the Trump administration’s move to rename his agency the War Department, something that cannot be done officially without a resolution from Congress. But the plaque in front of Hegseth described him as “Minister of War,” including an errant double “S” that quickly became a source of vitriolic ridicule online.

A banner of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Then, as each official took turns speaking, a television camera pointed at Trump showed him struggling to stay alert. The President sat in his chair, his eyes sometimes drooping, sometimes completely closed.

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Trump’s apparent drowsiness came after he criticized a recent New York Times story examining his agenda and stamina at age 79. Trump again criticized the Times story early in Tuesday’s meeting, even slipping into the third person to assure all participants that “Trump is smart.”

President Donald Trump closes his eyes at a Cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025. Photograph by Brian Snyder/Reuters

Another sign that things were going well came from Budget Director Russell Vaught, who was seen drawing a rural scene on White House letterhead paper.

Foote painted mountains surrounded by pine trees topped with the kind of friendly-looking clouds that public television legend Bob Ross preferred to crowd his serene landscape paintings. The budget chief also drew an arrow under his mountain. It was not clear where he was supposed to be pointing.

Conflicting messages about affordability

Just as Trump’s warnings to keep things tight were mocked, some Cabinet members also challenged the president in their presentations when it came to the issue of affordability.

He watches: Trump says the word “affordability” is a “con job” by Democrats

In his opening speech, Trump referred to the concerns raised by Democrats about rising costs as a “hoax.” But that hasn’t stopped several senior voices in his administration from offering serious details about how they’re actually seeking to lower prices nationwide.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke of the economic pressures on farmers, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent called affordability a “crisis,” and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said the hundreds of thousands of Americans becoming first-time homebuyers was an example of how the administration is taking strides to achieve greater affordability.

The final speaker was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke for several minutes and admitted, “I know I’m the last, so I wanted to be quick. But there’s a lot of ground to cover.”

In total, Tuesday’s meeting lasted more than two hours. That was less than the record for a Trump Cabinet meeting: an August marathon that lasted three hours and 17 minutes.

However, even the president admitted that the last meeting was long. “We spend a lot of time here,” he said.

Trump wrapped things up by taking questions from reporters, but only after jokingly asking: “Next, do you want to ask any questions?” He also pointed to a journalist who was holding a microphone to capture audio from a Cabinet meeting, and joked: “How strong are you?”

“You’ve been putting up with that for two hours,” the president continued, drawing laughter from Cabinet members. “There are very few people who can do that. I’m so proud of you.”

Q&A news

Journalists’ questions shook the recession.

Hegseth said he saw no survivors in the water when the order was given to carry out the second strike on the boat off Venezuela in early September. “It was heated,” he said, citing the “fog of war” in defense of what happened. He also said he “did not stay” for the remainder of the September 2 mission after the initial strike.

In response to a subsequent question, Trump declared that he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, adding that residents of the war-torn East African country should stay there and try to repair their homeland. He also accused Somalis of relying too heavily on US aid programs while offering little to the nation in return.

This was met with applause from his cabinet, although the questions ended abruptly as the journalists exited the room. Trump concluded by slamming his hand twice on the table, pushing his chair back, standing up and tapping Hegseth on the shoulder.