Rubio denies – A fiery House Foreign Affairs hearing turned into a fight over President Donald Trump’s health after Rep. Ted Lieu confronted Secretary of State Marco Rubio with video clips from Cabinet meetings showing Trump slumped and eyes closed. Rubio responded with fran
Wednesday’s hearing didn’t just turn on policy. It turned on a question of whether the man at the center of it all could even stay awake.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a heated House Foreign Affairs Committee moment about President Donald Trump’s health. Lieu brought the secretary back to a December 2025 Cabinet meeting video in which Trump appeared slumped over with his eyes closed while Rubio spoke.
When Rubio was asked point-blank if he had attended meetings where Trump fell asleep. the secretary’s reply came out as denial so quick it sounded like it was trying to outrun the footage. “I’ve never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary. the guy doesn’t sleep. which is a big problem. ’cause he calls me at 2 in the morning. he calls me at 5 in the morning. ” Rubio said. adding. “I like to sleep a little bit. maybe not 12 hours. at least six …The other day he was at the Oval Office at 12:30 a.m.”.
Lieu didn’t let him reset. He stopped Rubio and teed up another clip—this one showing Trump looking drowsy from last month—and accused the secretary of lying while war and peace decisions were being discussed.
“You are literally talking about issues of war and peace, and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you,” Lieu said as Rubio tried to push back.
Lieu’s follow-up was sharper and more pointed: “If Donald Trump can’t stay awake at these important meetings where the cameras are rolling. imagine what it is like when the cameras aren’t there.” Then he drove directly toward classified settings. “So I’m gonna ask you. have you been at classified meetings where Donald Trump has fallen asleep or had trouble staying awake?”.
Rubio refused the premise again, insisting the languid-looking president wasn’t nodding off in the clips and calling the questions “outrageous” for a hearing he said was already focused on foreign affairs.
In one of the most confrontational exchanges, Lieu accused Rubio of letting the question slide into theater. Lieu fumed that Rubio should come clean rather than deflect. saying: “Secretary Rubio. instead of holding North Korean-style Cabinet meeting where everybody goes around the room kissing Trump’s ass. I’m gonna ask you to come clean with the American people. There’s something wrong with Donald Trump’s health or cognitive abilities. There’s a… pic.twitter.com/j7p76zhfO2— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 3, 2026”.
Lieu then escalated the argument by introducing the claim that Trump’s alleged inability to stay awake on the job has led other nations to mock him as “weak” and “feeble,” saying Rubio had tried to dismiss the issue while presenting a video from a French news show.
Lieu called the incidents “indisputable evidence” that something was “very wrong” with the president’s health or cognitive abilities before playing another video and pressing harder. Lieu framed it around hospital visits and cognitive testing—describing repeated trips and saying the public deserved a direct answer.
“Secretary Rubio. instead of holding North Korean-style Cabinet meeting where everybody goes around the room kissing Trump’s ass. I’m gonna ask you to come clean with the American people. ” Lieu told him. “There’s something wrong with Donald Trump’s health or cognitive abilities. There’s a reason he keeps going to the hospital and they keep giving him cognitive tests. We have not seen the president in eight days. The American people deserve the truth.”.
As Rubio balked at what he called Lieu’s “ridiculous and absurd” questions and piled on more excuses, Lieu stopped trying to thread the needle. He went for the blunt accusation.
“Just keep lying, Secretary Rubio. Just keep lying,” Lieu said.
The confrontation lands on top of another layer of public concern: Trump’s repeated visits to the hospital. Those trips have been dismissed by Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who described them as “routine” during a Tuesday press briefing.
Asked why someone in “perfect health” would need four checkups since Trump was sworn in early last year, Oz said, “I think he likes the results.”
Put together, the hearing and the hospital explanation left Rubio and Lieu speaking past each other—one insisting the clips don’t show what they appear to show, the other arguing the videos are only one visible piece of a bigger question about health and cognitive ability.
The exchange ended with the same emotional temperature it began with: Lieu pushing for the secretary to answer directly, Rubio trying to blunt the footage with denial—and the fight, for now, continuing in public rather than inside the room.
Ted Lieu Marco Rubio Donald Trump health House Foreign Affairs Committee classified meetings Cabinet meeting video hospital visits cognitive tests Mehmet Oz
Wait so Trump was asleep during meetings? Like… the whole time?
Rubio said he doesn’t sleep? That’s honestly kinda worse if he’s calling at 2 and 5. Also the video clips must be cropped or something because everybody always edits stuff now.
Idk, cameras are always rolling and people look different on video. Eyes closed doesn’t mean asleep, it could be thinking or whatever. But Lieu pressing him about it sounds like political theater too, like they just want a headline.
This whole thing is nuts. If he’s really nodding off during war and peace talks, that’s not “sleepy clips” that’s a national security issue. And Rubio saying “he doesn’t sleep” while also admitting he calls him at odd hours… so which is it? Plus they always act like they didn’t attend, but the video literally shows him right there. I’m confused why anyone even argues about what the footage shows.