Donald Trump departed Washington DC earlier on Monday and is headed to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.
Trump tweeted once he was in the air, “Heading to Davos, Switzerland, to meet with World and Business Leaders and bring Good Policy and additional Hundreds of Billions of Dollars back to the United States of America! We are now NUMBER ONE in the Universe, by FAR!!”
LOL, so presidential!
Heading to Davos, Switzerland, to meet with World and Business Leaders and bring Good Policy and additional Hundreds of Billions of Dollars back to the United States of America! We are now NUMBER ONE in the Universe, by FAR!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2020 [1]
But one Trump insider says Trump will be up the entire time he is flying because he’s unable to sleep or relax due to his “drug addiction.”
Former Celebrity Apprentice staffer Noel Casler wrote, “Due to Trump’s drug addiction he is a horrible traveler. He stays up all night on AF1 and his handlers have a toddler on their hands. When he gets there jet lag and benzo’s take their toll. Davos is gonna be Litty AF. Donnie will bring his own snow.”
Due to Trump’s drug addiction he is a horrible traveler. He stays up all night on AF1 and his handlers have a toddler on their hands. When he gets there jet lag and benzo’s take their toll. Davos is gonna be Litty AF. Donnie will bring his own snow. ❄️ @realDonaldTrump [2]
— NoelCaslerComedy (@CaslerNoel) January 20, 2020 [3]
And Trump’s difficulty traveling overseas has been reported on before by CNN [4].
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak spoke to five current and former officials who described such transatlantic voyages aboard Air Force One as grueling. Staffers once vied for a spot on foreign trips. But three years into Trump’s administration, they now do their best to stay home, the report said.
The officials described a restless president who spends a lot of time watching cable news and reading boxes of newspapers.
“He will not go to sleep,” an official told CNN, adding that the president once summoned a meeting with an aide who was trying to catch a few hours of sleep before landing. The discussions at these meetings range from Trump’s upcoming agenda in the country he’s visiting to recent media coverage.
“It’s like being held captive,” an official said.
For staffers who are able to sleep, comfortable spots are hard to come by on the 4,000 square-foot aircraft. That’s because Air Force One is not loaded with lie-flat seats like private jets typically are. While Trump has a bedroom, staffers have to make do with office chairs, leather benches on the sides of the plane, and yoga mats.
The report painted a picture of life aboard Air Force One that resembles other portraits of life on ground in the White House.
Televisions on board are constantly showing Fox News, the cable channel that Trump reportedly spends much of his “executive time” watching and live tweeting on a regular day. According to CNN, he spends hours watching cable news footage on a TiVo-like device while in the air.