Secretary of State Marco Rubio has turned his sleep schedule into a running gag, admitting he literally hides from President Donald Trump on Air Force One so he can sneak in a nap. He says he wraps himself up so tightly in a blanket that he looks like a “mummy,” joking that he “cocoons” to avoid looking weak in front of the boss. Behind the punchline is a revealing snapshot of life around a president who seems to treat overnight flights as just another workday.
Rubio’s story, shared in a recent interview, has quickly become political catnip because it is both oddly specific and instantly relatable. It is also a window into the culture around Trump, who is known for keeping long, restless hours and expecting the people around him to keep up. The secretary’s travel routine, from the unused rooms he seeks out to the way he buries his face in a blanket, says as much about power and image as it does about jet lag.
Rubio’s “mummy” routine at 35,000 feet
Rubio has been unusually candid about how he copes with long-haul flights with Trump, describing a ritual that sounds more like a college all-nighter than high diplomacy. He says that when Air Force One heads overseas, he hunts for unused spaces on the plane, then curls up on a couch and pulls a blanket over his head until he is fully wrapped. In his telling, he looks like a “mummy” or someone “auditioning for a Snuggie commercial,” a visual that has now been repeated across accounts of his travel habits on Air Force One.
The secretary has leaned into the absurdity of it, joking that he “cocoons” himself so thoroughly that anyone walking by might not even realize a Cabinet official is under the pile of fabric. In one retelling, he describes how he goes to “unused” areas of the aircraft, wraps up, and tries to disappear from view, a detail echoed in coverage that notes how Secretary of State deliberately seeks out spots where he is least likely to be spotted. The image is half sitcom, half survival strategy, and Rubio seems to know it.
Trump never sleeps, so Rubio hides
Underneath the humor is a clear reason Rubio feels the need to vanish under a blanket: Trump barely sleeps on these flights. Rubio has said that on long overseas legs, the president is often awake and roaming the cabin, effectively patrolling the aisles while staffers try to grab a few minutes of rest. In one account, he notes that Trump “never sleeps on the plane” and might walk around at any hour, a pattern described in detail in an interview cited by Rubio.
That restless energy sets the tone for everyone else on board. Rubio has explained that he does not want Trump to see him sprawled out on a couch, asleep, while the president is wide awake and working. He has framed it as a matter of optics and respect, saying he worries Trump might look at a dozing aide and think, “this guy is weak.” That exact concern appears in coverage of his comments, where Rubio is quoted saying, “I don’t want him to see his Secretary of State sleeping on a couch and think, ‘Oh, this guy is weak,’” a line highlighted in both a detailed write-up and a separate piece that quotes him warning that he does not want Trump to see “his Secretary of State sleeping on a couch” at all, as noted in another account.
“I cocoon myself in a blanket” becomes a meme-ready line
Rubio’s most quotable line, the one that has ricocheted across social media, is his description of how he hides from Trump to sleep. “I cocoon myself in a blanket,” he said, explaining that he tucks in so tightly that only the outline of a person is visible. That phrase, “I cocoon myself,” has been repeated in coverage that notes how Marco Rubio Says from Donald Trump to Take Naps on Air Force One and that he literally wraps himself up to avoid being recognized. The wording is so vivid that it practically begs to be turned into a meme.
That same reporting underscores how Rubio has turned the story into a kind of self-deprecating brand. He is not just a senior diplomat, he is the guy who admits he looks like a bundled-up extra in a late-night infomercial. One write-up notes that he is being impersonated and parodied online, with the “cocoon” line becoming shorthand for his whole approach to surviving Trump’s schedule, a dynamic captured in coverage that points out how Marco Rubio Is as people latch onto his blanket routine. For a politician who has spent years trying to project toughness, it is a surprisingly cozy image to let loose.
Inside Trump’s sleepless flights and the “mummy” act
Rubio’s mummy joke lands because it fits into a broader picture of Trump’s travel style, which is heavy on motion and light on rest. Accounts of these trips describe overnight flights where the president is awake for long stretches, holding conversations, watching television, or moving from cabin to cabin while staffers juggle time zones and briefing books. One detailed look at the dynamic notes that flying overseas with President Donald Trump is “a test of diplomatic stamina,” and that Rubio’s habit of wrapping himself in a blanket until he looks like a “mummy” or someone “auditioning for a Snuggie commercial” is his way of coping, a description that appears in a piece from the TOI World Desk that also cites the figure 57 as part of its coverage.
Those same accounts emphasize that this is not a one-off quirk but a pattern that has developed over repeated trips. Rubio has described how he anticipates the moment when Trump will be awake and moving around, which is why he prepares his “mummy” disguise in advance. Another report recounts him explaining that he covers himself in a blanket and looks like a mummy specifically because he knows that at some point on the flight, Trump will be up and walking the cabin, a detail laid out in coverage of how Marco Rubio hides from Donald Trump to nap on Air Force One. The routine has become so ingrained that it now reads like part of the unofficial script of Trump-era foreign travel.
Image, power, and the politics of sleep
For all the comedy, Rubio’s confession is really about image management in a White House orbit that prizes toughness. He is not just any staffer grabbing a quick nap, he is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a top national security official who knows every camera and every stray anecdote can be used to judge his strength. That is why he has been explicit that he does not want Trump to see him asleep and conclude that his chief diplomat is not up to the grind. One account of his remarks notes that the Secretary of State said he hides because the president is awake, and he does not want to be caught looking less than fully alert.
That instinct tracks with how Rubio has framed his relationship with Trump more broadly, as a mix of loyalty, deference, and careful self-presentation. He has been willing to joke about his own quirks, but the underlying message is that he understands the expectations of working for a president who equates stamina with strength. Coverage of his comments has repeatedly stressed that he is trying to avoid being seen as “weak,” a theme that also appears in reporting that notes how Rubio worries about the optics of sleeping while Trump is awake. In that sense, the cocoon is not just about comfort, it is about shielding his political image as much as his eyes from the cabin lights.
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