MIDAS TOUCH

Trump’s Desk Overflows With Trinkets as He’s Gifted More Gold

The president was presented with yet another golden object.

President Donald Trump has added to his growing collection of shiny gold objects.

As the president was welcoming the Artemis II astronauts to the Oval Office on Wednesday, eagle-eyed reporters noticed a new addition to his desk: a gold model of the moon. Visible next to it was a model of the Space Reactor-1 Freedom Rocket.

The president welcomed Americans Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen to the White House on Wednesday, having previously spoken to them during their journey.

“Today, you’ve made history and made all America really proud,” the president told the crew during their journey, when they were some 250,000 miles away from Earth. “Humans have never really seen anything quite like what you’re doing in a manned spacecraft. It’s really special.”

During the call, he extended an invitation to the White House, telling the astronauts, “I’ll ask Jared [Isaacman] to bring you over, and I’ll ask for your autograph, because I don’t really ask for autographs much, but you deserve that, you really are something. Everybody’s talking about this.”

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Trump’s trinkets were on display during the Wednesday meeting, with NASA later confirming that the model of the moon was a gift from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, while the rocket was on loan from NASA.

Tiffany Coutris, a creative director for NASA, celebrated the display, writing on X, “Trump’s Golden Moon is looking pretty great on that desk.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

The moon joins Trump’s ever-expanding collection of golden trinkets, including two acquired this week during King Charles’ state visit.

On Monday, the British ambassador to the U.S. presented Trump with a large, gold-framed coin to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

‘LASTING SYMBOL’

King Charles Butters Trump Up With Even More Gold

William Vaillancourt

The king himself also gave the president a gilded gift: a bell from a submarine called the HMS Trump.

“I am delighted to present to you as a personal gift, the original bell which hung on the conning tower of your valiant namesake,” Charles said at Tuesday’s state dinner. The HMS Trump was launched from a British shipyard in 1944 and played a critical role in the Pacific theater of World War II, the monarch explained.

“May it stand as a testament to our nation’s shared history and shining future. Should you ever need to get hold of us, just give us a ring.”

Other golden objects on display in the Oval Office include a gold coaster, a challenge coin, and a golden eagle statue.

In addition, Trump gave the room itself a golden makeover, adding portraits in golden frames, golden embellishments on the walls, and a number of gold trophies above the fireplace.

His renovation efforts have also extended beyond the Oval Office, with the president adding golden embellishments and signage outside the door to the Oval Office.

Renderings of Trump’s controversial $400 million ballroom in the East Wing show that it is planned to be in a similar style, featuring golden chandeliers and accents throughout.

The president’s planned triumphal arch, designed to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary, also features gold accents and statues, including two golden eagles flanking a winged Lady Liberty, which is also made of gold.

As he waits for his gilded arch and ballroom, the president has a golden statue to tide himself over. The 15-foot bronze statue of the president, coated in gold leaf, was unveiled at his National Doral Miami golf club ahead of the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship this week.

Many have sought to impress Trump by presenting him with golden objects during his second term, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who created the FIFA Peace Prize specifically so it could be awarded to Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Unsatisfied, Trump has also resorted to eyebrow-raising methods to obtain awards, including María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize, which she presented to Trump during a January meeting at the White House.

On other occasions, the 79-year-old has been caught openly coveting other people’s prizes, including the FIFA World Cup trophy that was brought to the White House in August, and U.S. Men’s Hockey Olympic gold medalist Matthew Tkachuk’s gold medal.

A former White House ethics adviser has expressed concern that some of the gifts presented to the president potentially give “the appearance of a bribe.”

Richard Painter, 64, who served as George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer for two years, told the Daily Beast in December that a gold Rolex desk clock and one-kilogram gold bar given to Trump by a Swiss business consortium just one week before he cut tariffs for the country should trigger a congressional investigation.

“It just gives the appearance of a bribe,” Painter said. “I’m not saying it is a bribe…[but] to avoid the appearance of bribery and corruption, presidents almost always refuse…gifts.”

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