Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a bizarre fashion statement aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
Joining the president for his visit to China despite being sanctioned by the government, Rubio was among other senior members of the Trump administration on the flight to Beijing.
Having boarded the plane at Joint Base Andrews in a suit, Rubio changed once on board, with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung generously sharing the results with the world.
“Secretary Rubio rocking the Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ on Air Force One!” Cheung wrote on X. Attached was a photo of Rubio in a Nike tracksuit, identical to the one worn by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro when he was captured and transported to the U.S. in January.
The official White House X account then followed Cheung’s post with a video, set to Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize,” featuring photos of Rubio and Maduro in their matching tracksuits. The video opens with Rubio saying, “Now, if you don’t know, now you know,” at a January press conference; in his debut single, “Juicy,” Notorious B.I.G. sings the line, “And if you don’t know, now you know.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the State Department and White House for comment.
Some social media users were quick to note that another member of Trump’s Cabinet had complained in November last year about people dressing “like they’re going to bed” while traveling.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for a return to “civility” when traveling, bemoaning the fact that, “If you just watch social media, you have brawls at the baggage claim, you have passengers berating gate agents. We have unruly passengers on airplanes. People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly.”
“I see people getting on airplanes and they’re having a hard time taking their luggage and getting in the oversize or the above bin,” he continued. “Help people out, be nice, be courteous. And so we want to push people, as we come into a really busy travel season: Help people out, be in a good mood, dress up, bring civility back to travel. And I think everyone’s experience is going to be that much better.”
Rubio and Trump were joined aboard Air Force One by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former DOGE head and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Fox News host Sean Hannity, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as well as Eric Trump and his wife, Lara.
In a Tuesday evening Truth Social post, the president noted that other CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Blackrock’s Larry Fink and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman would also be joining him on the trip.
Disgraced Melania director and known Epstein associate Brett Ratner was also on board Air Force One on Tuesday, and is said to be scouting locations for Rush Hour 4. Trump reportedly pressured Paramount owner Larry Ellison to finance a revival of the buddy-cop franchise.
The trip marks the first time a U.S. president has visited China in almost nine years, with the previous visit taking place during Trump’s first term in November 2017.
The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven. Trump has invited multiple CEOs and trade delegates to join him in China.
While he told reporters on Tuesday that he would have a “long talk” about Iran with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he added that he didn’t expect it to be a major focus of their talks.
“I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control,” Trump said.
The 79-year-old described Xi as “a friend” and someone he gets along with, telling reporters, “I think you’re going to see that good things are going to happen.”
Trump last met with Xi in October 2025 at the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea, where they extended a truce in Trump’s ongoing tariff war.
