President Donald Trump asked “alarmed” aides for the original Declaration of Independence to be moved to the Oval Office, according to a report.
The historic and treasured document is displayed at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., where it has been housed since 1952 behind an argon-filled glass case under heavy security.
In recent days, Trump asked those in his inner circle about moving it to the Oval Office, according to the Atlantic, citing people familiar with the conversations.
To their relief, however, conversations have now moved to the prospect of moving a historical copy of the document instead of the original to the Oval Office.
“President Trump strongly believes that significant and historic documents that celebrate American history should be shared and put on display,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Aides “immediately recognized both the implausibility and the expense” of moving the original document, the outlet reports, given the document is extremely fragile and its legibility is greatly diminished.
Moving the original document in its special protective casing would likely cost millions of dollars, one expert told the outlet.
The inspiration behind the idea is unclear. But one of Trump’s sweeping executive orders included the creation of a task force to mark the 250th anniversary of the document next year.
The request follows Trump declaring himself “king” last month in a Truth Social post.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” he wrote in response to his administration’s push to strike down new tolls for Manhattan drivers. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The White House’s X account then shared his statement with a mock cover of Time magazine featuring a portrait of the president wearing a crown with the caption “long live the king.”
Since moving back into the White House after former President Joe Biden’s exit, Trump has revamped the Oval Office so it is more to his taste.
The iconic Diet Coke button is back and he has also brought back the bust of Winston Churchill that was removed by Biden.
Trump also replaced the dark blue rug with a pastel one.
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