Donald Trump Reads Private Note From Marco Rubio Out Loud on Live TV — Awkward White House Moment Leaves Secretary Squirming In His Seat
Donald Trump publicly read a private handwritten note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Jan. 10 2026, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump appeared to publicly embarrass Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a White House press conference after reading a private handwritten note from him aloud on live television, RadarOnline.com can report.
The incident occurred on Friday, January 9, during a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House. Trump, 79, was seated between Vice President JD Vance and Rubio, 54, when the exchange unfolded.
The Note
Rubio discreetly passed Trump the note after the president called on ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance to speak.
After Trump called on ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance to speak, Rubio was seen discreetly passing a note to the president while Vance, 41, looked on with visible confusion. Trump immediately drew attention to the exchange.
"Marco just gave me a note," Trump told the room before reading the message aloud. "Go back to Chevron," Trump said, continuing, "They want to discuss something. Go back to Chevron."
As Trump read the note, Vance laughed while Rubio smiled awkwardly. Trump then added, "Go ahead, I'm going back to Chevron," as he placed the note on the table and patted Rubio on the back. "Thank you, Marco."
The Viral White House Moment
Trump immediately drew attention to the note.
Moments later, a voice off camera asked, "Was there a question, Mr. President?" Trump picked up the paper again and responded, "Yes, go ahead," before turning back to Rubio and asking, "Marco, what was the, what are you saying here?"
Energy Secretary Chris Wright soon stepped in, calling on Mark Nelson of Chevron to provide updates from the company. As Nelson spoke, Rubio retrieved the note, folded it, and tucked it away.
The moment quickly circulated online, with observers noting Rubio's visible discomfort as Trump read the private message in front of the assembled executives and press
Trump continued the meeting for another 10 minutes before concluding: "Although I'm very well represented by our secretary of state. He could probably do an even better job than me, but who knows."
Previous Note Incident
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The incident quickly spread online.
The exchange echoed a similar moment from the fall, when Rubio passed another note to Trump during an October 8, 2025, meeting with conservative influencers and reporters. That note, captured by photographers, instructed Trump to approve a social media post regarding a tentative peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
"You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first," the note read.
Trump acknowledged the message at the time, telling attendees, "I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we're very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they're gonna need me pretty quickly."
"I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we're very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they're gonna need me pretty quickly," Trump repeated, adding, "So we'll take a couple of more questions."
