REPORT: Oval Office Desk Removed After Discovery of Listening Devices
Back in the White House for just over a month, President Trump has experienced a whirlwind of success.
But in the background, a certain amount of information has leaked from those pesky “anonymous sources”.
Or… is that actually where the leaks have come from?
Though the leaks coming from the Trump White House in 2025 have not been as rampant as that of his first term, the fact that there are any leaks have caused a few eyebrow raises.
Now, a report is circulating that listening devices have been found inside the Oval Office.
The reports specify that the listening devices were found inside the Resolute Desk which normally serves as the primary Oval Office desk.
Though these reports are unconfirmed, speculation has continued to grow after President Trump did confirmed that the Resolute Desk has in fact been moved “temporarily” out of the Oval Office.
In fact, even after two different reasons for the desk’s removal from the Oval Office, the speculation surrounding listening devices has continued.
Quite frankly, I’m not yet sure which story is true. So here’s a synopsis of all that is happening surrounding the desk’s removal.
Stories like the one below started popping up on social media, but many like this one were deleted soon after. (The screenshot exists because I expected this one to disappear as well — and it soon did.)
This post shows President Trump using the phone, seated at the Resolute Desk which is at the center of the speculation.
I’m using a screenshot — since almost every post with a large viewership is ultimately getting deleted:
President Trump, without meaning to, likely added to the speculation about listening devices found in the Oval Office with this post on his Truth Social.
The President posted a photo from inside the Oval Office four days ago, with the Resolute Desk nowhere to be found.
It has been replaced, temporarily according to President Trump, with the “C&O” desk — one of seven desks available for use by the President.
Here’s the full text of the President’s post on Truth Social in case the previous image is hard to read:
A President, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks. This desk, the “C&O,” which is also very well-known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job. This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!
One post I was able to find referenced President Trump’s Truth Social post, and mentioned that maybe a possible cover story was in the works — assuming that the story of the listening devices could be true.
https://twitter.com/RWTNews/status/1893488451263307917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1893488451263307917%7Ctwgr%5E2dfb6ea380ef30245e273fe8328f7d46ac9f53e1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwltreport.com%2F2025%2F02%2F23%2Freport-oval-office-desk-removed-after-discovery-listening%2F
Meanwhile, the primary story in the media has nothing to do with listening devices.
The official story — and the true story, for all I can tell — is that President Trump is simply having the Resolute Desk refinished in the course of normal maintenance.
And besides the likely scenario of normal maintenance, there may be an alternative reason for the refinishing job on the Resolute Desk related to Elon’s young son…
Watch this clip:
— Davidoff (@holy_cabron) February 21, 2025
Here’s details of THAT version of the story, according to a report in the New York Post:
The White House has assured the public it’s snot a permanent change.
Here’s the full text of Lombardi’s post:
The claim that President Trump’s White House desk was bugged lacks credible evidence. This assertion appears to stem from a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of recent events.
On February 11, 2025, during a press conference in the Oval Office, Elon Musk’s four-year-old son, X Æ A-12, was observed picking his nose and seemingly wiping it on the Resolute Desk. In response, President Trump, known for his germaphobia, ordered the desk to be temporarily removed for light refinishing. During this period, the Resolute Desk was replaced with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway desk (C&O desk), previously used by President George H.W. Bush.
There have been no credible reports or official statements suggesting that the Resolute Desk or any other furniture in the Oval Office was bugged. The removal and replacement of the desk were solely due to concerns about cleanliness following the incident with Musk’s son.
It’s important to distinguish between concerns about hygiene and unfounded allegations of surveillance. In this case, the actions taken were related to maintaining the cleanliness of the Oval Office furniture and not due to any security or espionage issues.
USA Today also picked up the story within the last 48 hours, running a fully informative article about the history of all 7 Presidential desks available for use by the sitting President.
No mention is made of the possible listening devices either in the desk or the Oval Office.
The Resolute Desk was initially a gift from Queen Victoria in 1880 to President Rutherford Hayes, according to the USA Today article:
President Donald Trump has temporarily taken the 150-year-old Resolute Desk out of the Oval Office for refinishing.