Rubio: I have never seen Trump fall asleep
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said he’d never seen President Trump fall asleep during meetings.
Appearing before the House Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio was asked by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) whether he had ever seen Trump fall asleep during a Cabinet meeting.
“That’s false. I’ve never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at 2 in the morning,” Rubio told lawmakers.
“He calls me at 5 in the morning. And, you know, I like to sleep a little bit, maybe not 12 hours, but at least 6. So he works. The other day he was at the Oval Office at 12.30 p.m. — 12.30 a.m. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he added.
Lieu accused Rubio of lying and then showed a clip of Trump with his eyes closed during a Cabinet meeting.
In a separate clip, Lieu showed a report from France 24 raising concerns about the president’s health due to his behavior at a Memorial Day ceremony, where the outlet reported his eyes appeared to be closed.
Lieu suggested that Trump is frequently appearing “weak” to enemies when the cameras are rolling.
Rubio said questions regarding Trump’s cognitive ability are “absurd.”
“He works inhumane hours. I’ve been on foreign trips with the president that he doesn’t sleep in the whole flight. And everyone else is sleeping on the plane. You know, wandering the hallways looking for someone to wake up and talk to. So I don’t know what you’re referring to. But he has an incredible amount of energy,” Rubio said.
“I’m just telling you, you may not like his policies. You may not like his policies. You may not like the decisions he’s made. But I assure you, this is not a president that sleeps or is cognitively impaired in any way, shape, or form,” he added.
Trump has previously addressed his eyes closing during Cabinet meetings and at other moments earlier this year.
The president said the Cabinet meetings are “boring as hell” but noted his eyes closing weren’t a reflection of his health.