President Donald Trump, known for his love of gold, grand gestures, and well-done steaks, has made another significant change in the Oval Office. Just a week after Elon Musk’s four-year-old son, X Æ A-12, made headlines for picking his nose and seemingly wiping it on the historic Resolute Desk, Trump has swapped it out for a different one. Coincidence? Maybe. But knowing Trump’s well-documented germaphobia, probably not.
The Resolute Desk, which has been used by multiple U.S. presidents since 1880, is now “lightly refinished,” according to Trump. In its place, the lesser-known but still impressive C&O desk has taken center stage. “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,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
Although some may be surprised by Trump’s decision to remove such a historic piece of furniture, he is not the first president to change desks in the Oval Office. In fact, swapping desks has been a common practice. Richard Nixon, for example, famously used what he believed to be President Woodrow Wilson’s desk. However, it was later discovered that the desk had actually belonged to Vice President Henry Wilson, not the former president—an embarrassing mix-up. Similarly, Lyndon B. Johnson preferred to use his own customized desk, which was filled with buttons and gadgets, ideally suiting a man who was known for holding meetings while sitting on the toilet.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt also had an interesting desk history. After a fire in the West Wing in 1929 destroyed much of the Oval Office, Roosevelt was given a new desk now on display at the FDR Library in New York. Meanwhile, George H.W. Bush, like Trump, opted for the C&O desk over the Resolute Desk, making Trump’s move something of a throwback.
Despite these changes over the years, the Resolute Desk remains one of the most famous pieces of furniture in the White House. Crafted from the timbers of the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute, the desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. It has since witnessed many iconic moments in history. One of the most famous is the photograph of John F. Kennedy Jr. playing underneath it while his father, President John F. Kennedy, worked above. Ronald Reagan later modified the desk by adding a panel to make it more comfortable for work. More recently, both Obama and Donald Trump have used the Resolute Desk, cementing its place in modern presidential history.
Given Trump’s well-known dislike of germs, his decision to remove the Resolute Desk after a four-year-old wiped his nose on it makes sense. He has previously spoken about his aversion to handshakes, once stating, “One of the curses of American society is the simple act of shaking hands.” If a handshake bothers him that much, a toddler’s booger on his desk was likely enough to trigger an emergency furniture swap.
Despite the unexpected switch, the White House has assured the public that the Resolute Desk will return soon. Trump himself emphasized, “This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!” Though, knowing Trump, we might not be so sure just yet.
Featured image via Screengrab
