Secretary of State Marco Rubio has turned the grind of high-level diplomacy into an unexpectedly relatable story about sleep. In a recent interview, he joked that he literally hides from President Donald Trump on Air Force One so he can sneak in a nap, wrapping himself in a blanket until he looks, in his words, like a mummy. The image of America’s top diplomat cocooned in the back of the plane is funny on its face, but it also pulls back the curtain on the pace and pressure of life inside Trump’s orbit.
Rubio’s story is not just about one man’s exhaustion, it is about the culture around a president who, by Rubio’s account, never sleeps on flights and roams the cabin at all hours. The secretary’s solution, ducking into unused spaces and disappearing under a blanket, captures how even the most powerful officials are still human, still tired, and still trying not to look weak in front of the boss.
The “mummy” in the back of Air Force One
Rubio has been unusually candid about how he copes with long-haul travel alongside Trump, describing a kind of airborne hide-and-seek on Air Force One. He says that when the jet levels off and the adrenaline fades, he sometimes slips away to unused areas of the aircraft, wraps himself tightly in a blanket, and tries to sleep without being noticed. In one account, he joked that he looks like a mummy when he does this, a visual that has now followed him across social media and into late-night monologues, and that matches his description of needing to hide his naps from Trump.
The secretary has framed this as both a joke and a survival tactic. He has a heavy workload, shuttling between capitals and crisis meetings, and he admits that at some point the body simply demands rest. Yet he also makes clear that he does not want Trump to see him sleeping, because he worries it could be read as an “appearance of weakness” in a boss who seems to pride himself on outlasting everyone around him. That tension, between the need to function and the need to project stamina, runs through Rubio’s explanation of why he hides his naps from Trump on Air.
Trump’s sleepless patrols and Rubio’s “cocoon” strategy
Part of what makes Rubio’s story land is his description of Trump’s own habits in the air. Rubio says the president never sleeps on the plane, instead walking the aisles and checking in on staff, a kind of rolling inspection that can happen at any hour. Knowing that President Trump might appear at his seat at any moment, Rubio has developed what he calls a “cocoon” strategy, bundling himself so completely in a blanket that, from a distance, he just looks like another anonymous staffer who nodded off. In one retelling, he said he wants Trump to think it is simply a staffer who fell asleep, not the secretary of state hiding in plain sight from President Trump.
Rubio has leaned into the humor of this, telling interviewers that he “cocoons” himself in a blanket and disappears into the back of the plane, but the details are specific enough to feel less like a bit and more like a routine. He has described going to unused sections of Air Force One, wrapping up until only a sliver of his face is visible, and hoping the president’s patrols pass him by. In one account, he said he hides from Donald Trump to take naps and “cocoon myself” so thoroughly that even close aides might not realize the bundle of blankets is the nation’s top diplomat.
That image has now been clipped and shared widely, including in a short video where Rubio is heard admitting that he hides from naps on flights with Trump. It is a rare, almost slapstick glimpse into the choreography of power on Air Force One, where the president’s movements dictate everyone else’s rhythms, right down to when the secretary of state feels safe enough to close his eyes.
Power, image, and the politics of looking tired
Strip away the punchline and Rubio is talking about something serious: the politics of fatigue in a White House that sells vigor as a brand. He has said he wants Trump to think he is always working, which is why he hides his naps and avoids being seen asleep on the job. In the same conversation where he described his blanket routine, he also spoke about foreign policy, including his view that Iran is “probably weaker than it has ever been,” a sign that these lighthearted anecdotes are woven into discussions of weighty issues. The juxtaposition of a “mummy” nap in the back of the plane with a hard line on Iran underlines how carefully Rubio manages both his image and his message around the president.
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