Topline
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he still wanted to examine the U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox—, a fixation for a time during his first year in office—as he again speculated about the condition of the United States’ bullion depository.
Gold bars stored at the U.S. Depository in Ft. Knox in 1974 photo.
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Key Facts
Trump said he “played with” the idea of an audit and “wanted to go knock on the door of Fort Knox,” a push then-Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk heavily promoted at the time.
The president added, “I wonder if they left the gold in Fort Knox because they steal a lot,” but did not elaborate on who would have supposedly stolen the reserves, which are estimated to hold 147.3 million fine troy ounces of gold in the Kentucky military base, which is priced at $42.22 per ounce.
When pressed on if there was a real need to examine the gold reserves, Trump said, “well I don’t know, I do want to go to Fort Knox some time. I want to see if the gold is there, which I’m sure it will be.”
It is unclear if the president has any future plans to travel to the fort near Louisville, Kentucky, and the White House did not immediately return a request for comment about the matter.
Key Background
Trump first commented on examining the reserves at Fort Knox last February, while Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts were in full swing. “We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there,” Trump told reporters. “Because maybe somebody stole the gold. Tons of gold.” The comments came after speculation from Musk and other commentators, often repeating poorly-sourced conspiracy theories about the gold reserves that have been floating around since at least the 1970s. Multiple legislators backed efforts to examine the reserves at Fort Knox, including libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who even claimed he had “repeatedly” tried to access the base. Musk suggested live streaming a video of a Fort Knox walkthrough.
Crucial Quote
“We do an audit every year,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg shortly after the speculation about the gold reserves began. “I can tell the American people on camera right now, that there was a report Sept. 30, 2024—all the gold was there. Any U.S. senator who wants to come and visit it, can arrange a visit through our office.”