Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that he hides from President Donald Trump under a blanket like a “mummy” while napping on Air Force One — because he doesn’t want Trump to catch him sleeping and think he’s weak.
“There’s an office with two couches, and I usually want to sleep on one of those two couches,” Rubio admitted. “But what I do is I cocoon myself in a blanket. I cover my head. I look like a mummy.”
And I do that because I know that at some point on the flight, [Trump is] going to emerge from the cabin and start prowling the hallways to see who is awake,” Rubio said.
“I want him to think it’s a staffer who fell asleep. I don’t want him to see his secretary of State sleeping on a couch and think, ‘Oh, this guy is weak.'”
The 54-year-old Secretary of State likely needs the rest considering his multiple major roles in the Trump administration. Rubio is the U.S. Secretary of State, acting national security adviser, acting national archivist, acting administrator of USAID, and chair of the World Expo 2035 Miami bid. He has also been the architect of Venezuela’s transition after the U.S. seized its dictator, Nicolas Maduro.
Trump rarely sleeps on the presidential jet and wants those around him to stay busy and at work.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the president was “absolutely tireless” during a Fox News interview in October.
“I know somebody made a comment on the plane, you know, [that] he goes on these long trips, these long plane rides, doesn’t sleep, he’s working throughout those flights, hits the ground running and gets directly to business,” Gabbard said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said much of the same during a recent interview.
“None of us can keep up with him; we always joke. I don’t know how he does it. I mean, none of us know when he sleeps. He’s working all the time, and it’s just constant for him,” Bondi stated.
Rubio isn’t the only one in need of a nap. Trump admitted he sometimes dozes off during his many cabinet meetings.
“It’s boring as hell. I’m going around a room, and I’ve got 28 guys – the last one was three and a half hours,” Trump said. “I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening. I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out.”
Marco Rubio says he covers his head with a blanket when taking naps on Air Force One so Trump won't think his secretary of state is weak for needing sleep on overseas flights.
An outstanding @bterris read, on Trump's health: https://t.co/kPYFwEOCwF pic.twitter.com/2WC6nEpYZx
— Jesús Rodríguez (@jesusrodriguezb) January 26, 2026