Donald Trump has revealed why he does not sleep on flights. While speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president said, “I don’t like sleeping on planes. I like looking out the window, watching for missiles and enemies, actually.”
Trump has been known to keep unusual sleep schedules and often stays awake until late at night. Even JD Vance has said Trump works late and survives on only a few hours of sleep. So the statement about not sleeping on a flight does not come as a surprise. The duration of the flight does not matter; Trump follows the same rule.
Moreover, he expects his advisers not to sleep either and to stay up on the flight. He has been known to mock them if they fail to stay awake. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has found a way around it. He told New York Magazine, “What I do is I cocoon myself in a blanket. I cover my head. I look like a mummy.”
Trump continues to struggle to stay awake as this interminable “Board of Peace” meeting drags on. We’re two and a half hours into this! pic.twitter.com/tTeqEdv5l0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 19, 2026
This way, Trump may not even recognize him if he checks who is sleeping on the flight. Over the past few months, Trump has bragged about not sleeping much. His late-night posts on Truth Social also reflect his sleep schedule.
Members of his administration have also praised his work ethic and his willingness to prioritize work over sleep. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News, “He takes these long trips, long flights, doesn’t sleep, works throughout the flight, hits the ground running, and gets down to business.”
The 79-year-old president has said he sleeps only a few hours a night. Many experts have called this a concern for his health. There has also been speculation floating about his health.
Look! Commander in sleep Donald Trump is currently fighting for his life to stay awake during his cabinet meeting:
pic.twitter.com/ut1f2IuUGI
— Lucas Sanders 👊🏽🔥🇺🇸 (@LucasSa56947288) December 2, 2025
Apart from this, Donald Trump has been captured by the media, shutting his eyes for an extended period of time. He was recently spotted closing his eyes at the Board of Peace for Gaza meeting. This prompted netizens to question if he’s sleeping at public events.
Trump said he was simply resting his eyes. Meanwhile, Rubio called it a listening mechanism. Since it’s not an isolated event and similar videos of him dozing off in public have gone viral, many online users are not convinced by these explanations.
