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President Donald Trump reads aloud a private note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a press conference at the White House on January 9
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Trump, who was meeting with oil and gas executives, read Rubio’s directive to “go back to Chevron” in front of the audience.
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However, the president didn’t seem to fully understand Rubio’s instructions
President Donald Trump appeared to embarrass Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a news conference when he read his personal notes aloud on live television.
The 79-year-old Trump was attending a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House when the incident occurred on Friday, January 9.
The president sat between Vice President J.D. Vance and Rubio, 54, during the press conference. After Trump asked ConocoPhillips’ Ryan Lance to speak, Rubio could be seen handing Trump a handwritten note, while Vance, 41, appeared confused.
“Marco just gave me a note,” Trump told the room of executives. Rubio capped his pen and glanced down, but immediately looked at the president as he began reading the note aloud.
“Back to Chevron,” Trump read from Rubio’s notes. “They want to discuss something. Get back to Chevron.”
As he spoke, Vance was visibly amused, with the president laughing on one side and Rubio smiling with obvious discomfort on the other.
“Go ahead, I’m going back to Chevron,” Trump said, placing the note back on the table.
Then he patted Rubio on the back and told him, “Thank you, Marco.”
“Mr. President, any questions?” a voice off-camera can be heard asking Trump, who then picks up the newspaper again and says, “Yeah, go ahead,” before asking, “Marco, what is that, what are you talking about here?”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright then took over, asking Chevron’s Mark Nielsen to share an update on the company’s situation. As Nelson spoke, Rubio took the note back, folded it, and put it away.
SAUL LOEB/AFP (Getty)
President Donald Trump pats Secretary of State Marco on the back after reading Rubio’s personal notes aloud during a news conference on January 9, 2026
Rubio also made headlines in the fall for another letter he wrote to Trump, which he provided to the president during a meeting with conservative influencers and media on October 8, 2025.
The note, captured by a photographer in the room, told Trump he needed to approve a social media statement about a tentative peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
Rubio signaled to Trump during the meeting and then shared a private update with the president about his need to “approve” a social media post, suggesting that Trump himself did not author the post.
A photo taken by The Associated Press showed the news, which read: “You need to approve the Truth social post ASAP so you can announce the deal first.” Trump quickly told attendees he had good news.
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“The secretary just gave me a note saying we are very close to a deal on the Middle East and they will need me soon,” he said. “So we’ll ask a few more questions.”
The Associated Press reported at the time that Trump continued the meeting for another 10 minutes before telling attendees that he had to “try to solve some of the problems in the Middle East.”
“As much as our secretary of state represents me well. He might do a better job than I do, but who knows,” he continued. “We don’t want to take any risks. So we’re going to do this.”
Read the original article on People
