All articles tagged with #oval office
During an Oval Office event to revive the Presidential Fitness Test Award, Trump spoke to visiting children about Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions and criticized transgender athletes in women’s sports, weaving in boasts about himself and a broad critique of Obama-era policies as part of the ceremony.
President Trump hosted Artemis 2 astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, along with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, in the White House Oval Office for a livestreamed greeting, praising their historic Moon flyby and joking about joining a future flight; Artemis 2’s lunar loop—launched April 1 and returned April 10—marked the first time humans left Earth orbit since Apollo 17 and the farthest distance from Earth to date, as reporters pressed on UFO declassification and NASA’s broader moon program and budget context.
President Donald Trump welcomed the Artemis II astronauts to the White House Oval Office, using the moment to tout space priorities and Space Force, while the press conference covered future Moon missions (Artemis III in 2027 and a Moon landing in 2028) and included questions about the Iran war, James Comey, and UFOs; NASA officials emphasized that Artemis III remains planned and that NASA HQ will stay in Washington, DC, as policy and geopolitics intersect with space ambitions.
At a White House event on health-care affordability, President Trump defended his drug-price figures by citing 'two ways of calculating'—a move critics say relies on mathematically inconsistent math, as CMS official Chris Klomp and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. listened.
Trump released a video of himself reading 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 from the White House Oval Office during an event called America Reads the Bible, organized by evangelical groups; the appearance comes amid recent clashes with the Pope and backlash over an AI-generated image depicting him as Jesus, highlighting his effort to center Christianity in his political messaging while evangelical supporters remain a key bloc ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Daily Show host Jon Stewart mocked Trump’s Oval Office moment as he signed an executive order to fast-track psychedelic-drug reviews, joking about the signature’s odd look (even comparing it to Lynyrd Skynyrd) and questioning the order’s legality, while the segment also touched on Trump’s Iran-war rhetoric.
President Trump is set to read Scripture via video from the Oval Office on April 21 during the “America Reads The Bible” event, choosing 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (verse 14). The move comes as he has tangled with Pope Leo over Iran policy and after deleting an AI-generated image depicting him as Jesus, highlighting the administration’s ongoing intertwining of religious language with official duties. Several aides are expected to participate, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, underscoring the broader push to blend faith and government narrative.
Sharon Simmons, a Fayetteville grandmother of 10 and DoorDash driver, delivered McDonald’s to President Trump at the White House in a publicity stunt tied to the No Tax on Tips policy; DoorDash says it wasn’t staged, and Simmons has publicly supported the policy, which she credits with saving money for her husband’s cancer treatment, while the optics drew scrutiny from critics about manipulation.
President Donald Trump reportedly tipped a DoorDash driver $100 after delivering McDonald’s to the Oval Office, a moment captured in AP photos.
A seven-member Commission of Fine Arts voted to urge the Treasury to mint a 24-karat gold commemorative coin featuring Donald Trump and to make it as large as possible, potentially up to three inches in diameter, after Trump approved the design. The Treasury will make the final call on the coin's specs after consultations with the CFA and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which has opposed placing a living president on coins; critics and some coin collectors also oppose the move.
At a White House meeting with Japan's prime minister, Trump made a provocative quip about Pearl Harbor while discussing Iran, prompting stunned reactions and highlighting his habit of off-the-cuff remarks in foreign diplomacy.
Trump says a former president told him he regretted not attacking Iran when they occupied the Oval Office, a claim aides to the alleged predecessor deny having had any contact about.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani not to be swayed by Donald Trump, signaling a tougher stance toward the president after earlier advocating an “open hand” approach; the remark came during a memoir event and highlights shifting dynamics as Trump, Mamdani and housing policy intersect.
Trump, 79, flashed swollen ankles during a bilateral Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a symptom tied to chronic venous insufficiency diagnosed in 2025; he briefly wore compression socks but stopped because he didn’t like them. The encounter unfolded amid broader health and image concerns, including a neck rash and skepticism from doctors, while he criticized tariffs and bases in Europe.
Trump has stopped staging public Oval Office press conferences with visiting leaders, a trend fueled by foreign leaders’ dislike of the live‑camera format and Trump’s own weariness with the show. Many encounters have shifted to private or behind‑the‑scenes discussions, though a press availability could reappear if the German chancellor’s working visit proceeds amid Iran strikes. The shift signals a broader move away from televised, high‑drama diplomacy toward more controlled diplomacy and raises questions about how public messaging and alliances are managed going into elections.