Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he tries to hide his naps from President Donald Trump when the two are flying together on Air Force One.
“There’s an office with two couches, and I usually want to sleep on one of those two couches,” Rubio, 54, told New York magazine in an article published Monday, Jan. 26.
“But what I do is I cocoon myself in a blanket,” he added. “I cover my head. I look like a mummy.”
Rubio said he does it because he expects Trump to eventually step out of his cabin mid-flight and “start prowling the hallways to see who is awake.”
Rubio told the magazine he needs extra rest on overseas trips, but that it can be tricky because Trump, 79, doesn’t nap. He said he’d rather the president assume a staffer is asleep than see his secretary of state resting, adding that he doesn’t want Trump thinking, “Oh, this guy is weak.”
The same New York article — which focused primarily on Trump’s health and aging — also touched on the president’s sleep habits and noted that he has been spotted closing his eyes during multiple meetings.
When asked whether Trump is dozing off in those moments, Rubio reportedly dismissed the idea and defended him, saying, “It’s a listening mechanism.”
Trump, who turns 80 in June, offered a different explanation for why his eyes close during Cabinet meetings, saying it can get “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,” he added.
Earlier this month, Rubio and Trump drew attention after Rubio slipped the president a note during a televised press conference with gas and oil executives — and Trump read it out loud.
“Marco just gave me a note,” Trump announced.
“Go back to Chevron,” Trump read from the paper. “They want to discuss something. Go back to Chevron.”
