Published 16:16 IST, February 7th 2019
Donald Trump's Presidential guest Joshua Trump sleeps through his State of the Union address, gets the internet talking
Joshua Trump, an 11-year-old boy who was bullied for his last name, was visibly enjoying the best sleep of his life at the State of Union address by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night (local time). Joshua was one of the special guests for Trump's State of Union address.
Joshua Trump, an 11-year-old boy who was bullied for his last name, was visibly enjoying the best sleep of his life at the State of Union address by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night (local time). Joshua was one of the special guests for Trump's State of Union address.
Joshua, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Delaware who had to drop out of school, had been invited to the event by first lady Melania Trump. She hoped his presence would send an important message that's in line with the anti-bullying platform of her Be Best initiative.
Photos of the night that went viral on the internet, showed Joshua within a distance of two seats from Melania Trump during the most awaited address of the year, where many hailed him as an unlikely talisman of the anti-Trump "resistance" while one wag remarked: "Joshua Trump spoke for all Americans".
Joshua can be seen enjoying an open-mouthed sleep, uninterrupted by the loud applause of the Parliamentarians, flashing cameras, or the 82 minutes speech of the US President.
"Joshua Trump is a Trump I can get behind," quipped another while a third enthused: "Not all heroes wear capes."
Here are some social media reactions:
While giving a brief description of the young guest, the White House in a statement said that the sixth-grader is a fan of science, art and history and hopes to pursue a career that has something to do with animals.
South China Morning Post reported that Joshua, after dropping out of school in 2017, "had lost the will to live" according to his mother. Joshua was home-schooled for a year, before getting re-enrolled in middle school.
"They say are you related to Donald Trump? And I say, 'Would I be here if I'm related to him?'" the schoolboy told Inside Edition in December.
However, Joshua's school has instructed his teachers not to use his surname any more and disciplined five students, who apologised to the boy regarding the issue.
Updated 16:46 IST, February 7th 2019