Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revealed an unusual incident aboard Air Force One that left some of the nation’s highest-ranking officials unsure what they should do.
For approximately an hour and a half, Rubio and others reportedly debated whether to intervene as an unidentified person remained completely motionless despite the activity happening around them.
Rubio revealed during an appearance on the Katie Miller Podcast that he and other officials returning from China spent approximately 90 minutes wondering whether a person sleeping in an Air Force One conference room might actually be dead.
Advertisement
“We spent about 90 minutes sort of debating should we make a move?” Rubio recalled.
“Should I call the doc?” he continued.
“Should we deal with this?” Rubio asked as he recounted the bizarre situation.
Advertisement
According to Rubio, the officials hesitated because waking someone who was merely enjoying an unusually deep sleep could create an embarrassing situation.
“Because it’s embarrassing if you wake them up,” Rubio said, imagining the person responding, “Oh, I was just sleeping.”
Advertisement
The alternative, however, was considerably more serious.
“But if they were dead, like what do you do?” Rubio said.
“You have a dead body on the plane,” he continued.
“Who’s going to — what do you deal with that?” Rubio asked.
Rubio said the person had slept through “a lot of noise” and was not “responding to any of the stimulus,” which made those around the individual increasingly concerned.
He also said “the breathing pattern was difficult,” adding another reason for the officials to wonder whether something might be seriously wrong.
Despite their concerns, nobody apparently summoned the physician or attempted to wake the individual during the approximately 90-minute deliberation.
Eventually, the mystery resolved itself without anyone having to make the decision.
“Luckily, the person was fine,” Rubio said.
Rubio did not reveal who the unusually deep sleeper was, and there has been no confirmation from another official identifying the person.
That omission inevitably prompted speculation on social media about who might have been aboard the aircraft.
Advertisement
“The person was probably Mitch McConnell,” one person speculated on X.
Another user jokingly suggested someone should tell Rubio, “I would’ve just woken him up I don’t care… who cares if it’s embarrassing.”
There is no evidence supporting any of the identities suggested online, and Rubio himself offered no clue establishing who the person was.
The anecdote also attracted attention because Rubio was questioned about another sleeping-related controversy during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing approximately a month earlier.
“Secretary Rubio, have you been at more than one meeting where President Trump has fallen asleep?” Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu asked.
Advertisement
“I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Rubio responded.
“On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem,” Rubio added.
Rubio said Trump’s schedule keeps administration officials busy and noted that the president contacts him early in the morning.
Lieu challenged that answer and said he had video from a cabinet meeting that he believed showed Trump with his eyes closed while Rubio was speaking.
“Secretary Rubio, I’m going to show you, in a moment, a video that shows you just lied to Congress,” Lieu said.
Advertisement
Rubio maintained that he had never witnessed Trump fall asleep, and no formal congressional action related to Lieu’s accusation has been reported.
The identity of the person involved in Rubio’s Air Force One story remains a mystery, along with the exact date of the flight and the identities of the other officials who participated in the discussion.
🚨 NEW: Sec. Marco Rubio reveals he thought he found a DEAD BODY on Air Force One on the way back from China, couldn’t tell if the person was just sleeping or DECEASED
“I kept tabs on it. I needed to account for where I was if this person passed away!”
“I’m not going to say who… pic.twitter.com/cL6wsJp4Oc
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 11, 2026
Rubio nevertheless appeared to view the entire episode with humor now that he knows there was no medical emergency.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
