Topline<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he still wanted to examine the U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox\u2014, a fixation for a time during his first year in office\u2014as he again speculated about the condition of the United States\u2019 bullion depository.<\/p>\n
Gold bars stored at the U.S. Depository in Ft. Knox in 1974 photo.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Key Facts<\/p>\n
Trump said he \u201cplayed with\u201d the idea of an audit and \u201cwanted to go knock on the door of Fort Knox,\u201d a push then-Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk heavily promoted at the time.<\/p>\n
The president added, \u201cI wonder if they left the gold in Fort Knox because they steal a lot,\u201d but did not elaborate on who would have supposedly stolen the reserves, which are estimated<\/a> to hold 147.3 million fine troy ounces of gold in the Kentucky military base, which is priced at $42.22 per ounce.<\/p>\n When pressed on if there was a real need to examine the gold reserves, Trump said, \u201cwell I don\u2019t know, I do want to go to Fort Knox some time. I want to see if the gold is there, which I\u2019m sure it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Trump first commented<\/a> on examining the reserves at Fort Knox last February, while Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency efforts were in full swing. \u201cWe\u2019re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cBecause maybe somebody stole the gold. Tons of gold.\u201d The comments came after speculation<\/a> from<\/a> Musk and other commentators<\/a>, often repeating poorly-sourced conspiracy theories about the gold reserves that have been floating around since at least the 1970s<\/a>. Multiple legislators backed efforts to examine the reserves at Fort Knox, including libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul<\/a>, R-Ky., Rep. Thomas Massie<\/a>, R-Ky., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who even claimed<\/a> he had \u201crepeatedly\u201d tried to access the base. Musk suggested<\/a> live streaming a video of a Fort Knox walkthrough.<\/p>\n Crucial Quote<\/p>\n \u201cWe do an audit every year,\u201d Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg<\/a> shortly after the speculation about the gold reserves began. \u201cI can tell the American people on camera right now, that there was a report Sept. 30, 2024\u2014all the gold was there. Any U.S. senator who wants to come and visit it, can arrange a visit through our office.\u201d<\/p>\n