Latest news with #WestWingStudy
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Sends Resolute Desk for Touch-Up After Musk's Son Seemingly Wiped a Booger on It
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the Resolute Desk has been temporarily removed from the Oval Office to be 'refinished,' a touch-up that occurred just days after Elon Musk's son seemingly picked his nose and wiped it on the historic piece of furniture. 'A President, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. 'This desk, the 'C&O,' which is also very well-known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job. This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!' The C&O desk was originally made for the owners of Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1920, but was later gifted to the White House as a donation. While George H.W. Bush used it in the Oval Office, other former presidents like Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan used it in the West Wing Study. The Resolute Desk, however, is an iconic mainstay of the Oval Office, having recently been used by former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as by Trump in his first term. The desk is a seminal part of the Oval Office's iconography—and was known for being a young John F. Kennedy Jr.'s favorite hiding spot. During a press conference on all things DOGE last week, Musk's son X Æ A-12 spun social media into a frenzy after being caught picking his nose and wiping it on the Resolute Desk. 'This is X, and he's a great guy,' the president said during the conference on Feb.11. 'High IQ…high-IQ individual.' It remains unclear whether this incident has anything to do with the desk being temporarily replaced—though Trump is notoriously a germaphobe. He has called the practice of shaking hands a 'barbaric' tradition and even confirmed his status in a 2017 press conference, stating matter-of-factly: 'I'm also very much of a germaphobe, by the way, believe me.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump reveals he has removed the Resolute Desk used by Biden and Obama from the Oval Office
Donald Trump has temporarily removed the iconic Resolute Desk used by his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama from the Oval Office and replaced with the C&O desk. Crafted from the once-abandoned British arctic exploration ship the HMS Resolute and gifted to President Rutherford Haye by Queen Victoria in 1880, the Resolute Desk has been used by almost every U.S. leader in West Wing. The Resolute Desk marks one of six – along with the C&O, Theodor Roosevelt, Hoover, Johnson, and Wilson – that have been placed in the Oval Office since the room's construction in 1909 as a symbol of one's presidency, along with providing a practical workspace. Now, Trump has revealed that the Resolute Desk needs to be refurbished, and has instead opted to bring in a 'beautiful,' albeit 'temporary,' replacement. 'A President, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, appearing to skew his figures. C&O stands for Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as the desk was originally built for the company's owners. It was donated by the GSX corporation, a mass rail transit company, to the White House in 1987. 'This desk, the 'C&O,' which is also very well-known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job. This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!' Since 1977, the Resolute Desk has remained a firm fixture in the Oval Office and used by every president bar Georgie W. H. Bush, who opted for the C&O Desk. Bush Sr is the only president to use the C&O Desk, marking it as the shortest-serving desk to date. Other incumbents, such as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan used the C&O desk in the West Wing Study. Only three presidents are believed to have not used the Resolute Desk at all in the West Wing: Lydon B Johnson, Richard Nixon and Ford, according to the White House Historical Association. The Resolute Desk was first used in the Oval Office by John F Kennedy in 1961. After JFK's assassination in 1963, which saw Johnson ascend to the Oval Office, he selected the Johnson Desk. After being retired, the Resolute Desk was then displayed in the Smithsonian between 1966 and 1977, when Jimmy Carter returned the Resolute Desk to the Oval Office. Most recently, the Resolute Desk was used by Democratic former presidents Biden between 2021 and 2025 and Obama between 2009 and 2017. Trump also used the desk in his first term between 2017 and 2021. The Independent has contacted the White House for more information.


The Independent
20-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump reveals he has removed the Resolute Desk used by Biden and Obama from the Oval Office
Donald Trump has temporarily removed the iconic Resolute Desk used by his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama from the Oval Office and replaced with the C&O desk. Crafted from the once-abandoned British arctic exploration ship the HMS Resolute and gifted to President Rutherford Haye by Queen Victoria in 1880, the Resolute Desk has been used by almost every U.S. leader in West Wing. The Resolute Desk marks one of six – along with the C&O, Theodor Roosevelt, Hoover, Johnson, and Wilson – that have been placed in the Oval Office since the room's construction in 1909 as a symbol of one's presidency, along with providing a practical workspace. Now, Trump has revealed that the Resolute Desk needs to be refurbished, and has instead opted to bring in a 'beautiful,' albeit 'temporary,' replacement. 'A President, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, appearing to skew his figures. C&O stands for Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as the desk was originally built for the company's owners. It was donated by the GSX corporation, a mass rail transit company, to the White House in 1987. 'This desk, the 'C&O,' which is also very well-known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job. This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!' Since 1977, the Resolute Desk has remained a firm fixture in the Oval Office and used by every president bar Georgie W. H. Bush, who opted for the C&O Desk. Bush Sr is the only president to use the C&O Desk, marking it as the shortest-serving desk to date. Other incumbents, such as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan used the C&O desk in the West Wing Study. Only three presidents are believed to have not used the Resolute Desk at all in the West Wing: Lydon B Johnson, Richard Nixon and Ford, according to the White House Historical Association. The Resolute Desk was first used in the Oval Office by John F Kennedy in 1961. After JFK's assassination in 1963, which saw Johnson ascend to the Oval Office, he selected the Johnson Desk. After being retired, the Resolute Desk was then displayed in the Smithsonian between 1966 and 1977, when Jimmy Carter returned the Resolute Desk to the Oval Office. Most recently, the Resolute Desk was used by Democratic former presidents Biden between 2021 and 2025 and Obama between 2009 and 2017. Trump also used the desk in his first term between 2017 and 2021.