US President Donald Trump has taken the 145-year-old Resolute Desk out of the Oval Office and replaced it temporarily with the C&O Desk. The move comes just days after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took his 4-year-old son, X Æ A-12, to the White House with him, whose mischievous behavior during a live press conference made headlines.
The traditional Resolute Desk, used by more than one US president, was dispatched for restoration after Musk's son was caught picking his nose and wiping it on the desk during a live event.
Trump defends decision, calls it a 'temporary' Change
President Trump affirmed the change in a February 19 Truth Social post, stating the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished.
"A president, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks," Trump wrote. "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."
Trump, who is germophobic, did not directly attribute the removal of the desk to Musk's son's actions. Nevertheless, White House sources indicated that the accidental actions of the young child might have hastened the refurbishment process.
The history of the resolute desk
The Resolute desk, made from wood of the ill-fated British Arctic exploration vessel HMS Resolute, was presented to the US by Queen Victoria in 1880. It has been the official presidential desk for many leaders, such as John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.
The desk first saw use in the Oval Office by John F. Kennedy in 1961 and has become one of the most recognisable pieces of furniture in the White House since then.
The C&O Desk: A presidential alternative
Trump has instead chosen the C&O Desk, which was initially constructed for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway corporation. It was originally utilised in the Oval Office Study in 1975 and then donated to the White House in 1987.
The C&O Desk is part of six available presidential desks, including the Resolute, Theodore Roosevelt, Hoover, Johnson, and Wilson desks.
Musk's son steals the show in Oval Office visit
The desk switch occurred just days after Elon Musk and his son made an appearance at the Oval Office to sign executive orders to cut government spending. At the event, Musk's son, also referred to as "Little X", was observed fidgeting, babbling, and pacing around the historic room.
At one stage, the boy was filmed on live TV pulling his nose and cleaning his hands on the Resolute Desk, drawing a reaction of amusement as well as alarm.
Trump, who brought the boy before the media, commented, "This is X, and he’s a great guy—high IQ. High-IQ individual."
Though the Resolute Desk is set to return to the Oval Office, how soon it will be refurbished is unknown. The White House hasn't made an official announcement on when the desk will be installed again, but Trump stressed that the replacement is temporary.
With Trump's return to the White House and his ongoing preoccupation with White House decor, whether the Resolute Desk will experience a revival prior to the expiration of his term remains to be seen.
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