President Donald Trump and his top officials couldn’t help falling in love with Graceland—even as war rages on.
Trump, 79, made a stop at Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, following a roundtable on crime reduction in the city. Once there, the president gleefully toured the grounds—closed to the public for his arrival—and was even handed a replica of one of Presley’s guitars to sign.
The detour comes as long TSA lines continue at airports nationwide—with ICE agents roaming the transportation hubs—and the United States enters its fourth week of a surprise war with Iran, launched in coordination with Israel on Feb. 28.
But inside Presley’s famed residence, Trump appeared focused on a different kind of rival. Seated in Elvis’ “jungle room,” he mused about physically fighting the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, who died in 1977. After being told Presley was skilled in karate, Trump replied: “Could I have taken him in a fight?”
The president’s entourage was out in full force. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller snapped photos of the home and shared them online after what Trump said was his first visit to the sprawling estate.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also attended, joining Trump after their joint appearance at the Memphis roundtable.
Trump has long featured Elvis songs at his campaign rallies and exclaimed “I love Elvis” when he told the roundtable crowd he planned to visit Graceland afterward.
But when asked by reporters to name a favorite track from the King’s catalog, the president struggled to land on one.
“He’s got so many. There are very few I don’t like,” he said.
Trump also mused over the treatment of Elvis, who died at 42. “Does Elvis get treated better than me?” Trump wondered aloud at another point during the tour. “Cause for me, it’s fake news, I think with Elvis it was fake news, too.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
