‘Germophobic’: Did Donald Trump change iconic White House desk due to Elon Musk’s son picking his nose?
US President Donald Trump has ordered the removal of the iconic 150-year-old Resolute Desk from the Oval Office for refurbishment, just days after media reports suggested that Elon Musk‘s son, X Æ A-Xii, may have wiped a booger on it during a White House visit.
According to the New York Post and New York Daily News, the incident happened when Musk, the DOGE head, visited Trump with his four-year-old son, whom he calls ‘X.’
During the visit, X was reportedly seen picking his nose and wiping it on the Resolute Desk after whispering something to Trump, who remained focused on Musk’s statements. Musk laughed and gently asked his son to stop, but X’s playful curiosity seemed to get the better of him.
According multiple media reports, Trump, known for his extreme germophobia, did not mention the incident in his social media post but explained the desk swap by saying, “A President, after the election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks.”
“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!” US President added.
The temporary replacement, the Georgian-style C&O Desk, is made of walnut and features golden handles. Originally built for an owner of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, it was later donated to the White House and used by George H W Bush, making Trump only the second president to select it.
The Resolute Desk, widely regarded as the most iconic piece of furniture in the Oval Office, was crafted from the timbers of the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute and gifted by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B Hayes in 1880.
It has been used by most presidents since, except for Lyndon B Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. Other desks available to sitting presidents include the Theodore Roosevelt Desk, The Johnson Desk, The Hoover Desk, and The Wilson Desk.
