Trump sends Musk out of White House with gold key

After spending 130 days working to dismantle entire federal government agencies, firing tens of thousands of civil servants and sparking dozens of lawsuits over potential misuse of Americans' personal data, the world's wealthiest man was rewarded with a gold-plated skeleton key that can be purchased for nearly $8,000 on eBay.

Seated at the iconic desk hewed from timbers harvested from H.M.S. Resolute, President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk for his four months of work leading the "Department of Government Efficiency," a role from which Musk is required to depart due to his now-former status as a Special Government Employee, which had let him work for free without complying with any financial disclosure rules but only for 130 days per year.

He called the Tesla and SpaceX CEO "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced" and hailed him for having led what Trump called "the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations."

"Elon gave an incredible service. There's nobody like him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he's an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90% of the country knows that, and they appreciate it, and they really appreciate what he did," he said. Trump then presented Musk with a trinket that dated back to the 47th president's prior term as the 45th President of the United States: A "Key to the White House."

It was an oversize, gold-plated key in a wooden presentation box, with an engraving of the Executive Mansion on the inside of the lid. Musk was not by any means the first person to be gifted with this Trumpian trinket. In his 2022 memoir Breaking History, Trump's son-in-law and ex-senior adviser Jared Kushner recounted how he'd "whipped out" the same gift for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a September 2020 meeting in the Oval Office.

At the time, Trump called it a "a special token of affection, given by myself and the First Lady to the Prime Minister and the First Lady of Israel."

"And it's a key — we call it a key to the White House. And it's a key to our country and to our hearts," he said as he handed it over to Netanyahu. Kushner wrote that Trump had told Netanyahu that the key he gifted him was "the first key I'm giving to anyone" and claimed that it would grant the Israeli leader entry to the White House "even when I'm not president anymore." As he handed Musk the same tchotchke nearly five years later, Trump said it was "a little special something" that he gives to "very special people" as "a presentation from our country."

It's not known how many of the souvenirs have been given out by Trump, but a search by The Independent revealed that identical items have been listed on eBay, with two current listings showing prices of $7,250 and &7,950. The auction site RR Auction also shows another of them having sold for $3,670.

Musk, who wore a black "Make America Great Again" cap, a black suit and a t-shirt with the words "The Dogefather" on it and appeared to look around the Oval Office aimlessly as Trump spoke, accepted the box from the president as he told reporters that his time in the administration "necessarily had to end" and had been "a limited time." But somewhat paradoxically, he said the DOGE team he put in place "will only grow stronger over time" and compared DOGE to "sort of Buddhism."

"It's like a way of life. So it is permeating throughout the government, and I'm confident that over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings and reduction in a trillion dollars of waste," he said. He added that he will "continue to be visiting" Washington "as a friend and adviser" to Trump and stressed that he looked forward to being back in the Oval Office as he praised the president for his redecorating efforts, which have seen the iconic space take on a distinctively gilded look through copious amounts of gold leaf on the walls and ceiling. Musk also sported a noticeable black eye during the press conference, and when a reporter asked him what had happened to him, he blamed his young son, X Æ A-12, who goes by "Little X."

"I was horsing around with Little X, and I said 'go ahead, punch me in the face. And he did," he said. But the centibillionaire's face wasn't the only one that was discussed during the hour-long session. After he and Musk spoke, Trump took questions on multiple topics, including one about a recent incident involving French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, during which the French First Lady appeared to strike her husband as they were exiting an aircraft earlier this week.

Asked whether he had any advice for his French counterpart, Trump — who has been married three times and divorced twice — replied: "Make sure the door remains closed." He added that he'd spoken with Macron recently and said the French first couple was "fine."

"They're two really good people. I know him very well, and I don't know what that was all about, but I know him very well, and they're fine," he said.