Donald Trump became the first president to ring Wall Street’s opening bell from the Oval Office on Monday—and then declared he was stealing the relic for his ever-expanding ballroom.
The 80-year-old billionaire made the quip as he marked the first trading day for his so-called Trump Accounts, a government initiative that provides some American children with a $1,000 investment.
“I’m not giving it back,” he said, after ringing the ceremonial bell to open the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq next to a gaggle of children.
Trump later repeated the comment during a Rose Garden lunch in front of guests such as MAGA rapper Nicky Minaj, who he described as “so hot and so great.”
“There’s the bell right there,“ Trump beamed.
“It’s so beautiful, I’m not giving it back. I don’t know if it’s supposed to go back, but they’re gonna have to fight like hell to get it back.”
Trump’s crack about the NYSE bell is hardly the first time he has laid claim to a prized keepsake.
Last month, while visiting Wisconsin, Olympic speed skating champion Jordan Stolz draped one of his gold medals around the president’s neck.
“I’m keeping it,” Trump joked. “I’m never giving this back,” before eventually returning it.
He also made a nearly identical joke last year when FIFA president Gianni Infantino brought the World Cup trophy to the Oval Office ahead of the 2026 tournament.
Admiring the solid-gold prize, Trump asked if he could keep it.
The trophy later remained on display in the Oval Office, with Trump later saying FIFA had told him he could keep it.
Whether Trump was joking about keeping the Wall Street bell is not clear. But the president has spent months championing construction of a lavish state ballroom, which only seems to be getting new additions by the month.
The project was announced last year with a price tag of $200 million.
However, Cark Construction, the contractor hired for the ballroom, informed the White House on March 5 that the project had increased to $600 million, according to a project summary obtained by the Washington Post, with $293 million of that amount coming from “private sources
This not only means the project has ballooned significantly, but that taxpayers are likely to foot part of the bill, despite the White House repeatedly insisting this would not happen.
“How many times did Trump say zero taxpayer dollars would go to his gilded ballroom?” Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, said in a post on X.
“He lied. Every time. But still not a dime to help lower costs for families.”
Trump has also admitted that the ballroom is just a “shield” for what’s being quietly built underneath: a multi-level fortress with a military hospital, research facilities and top secret meeting rooms.
“The best thing and the biggest thing we’re doing is we’re building a ballroom, and a tremendous military center,” Trump bragged during his Rose Garden lunch on Monday.
“That was supposed to be top secret, but it’s no longer top secret, because whatever you do you get sued.”
“They sue because they think the ballroom’s too big, the ballroom’s too small, ‘I don’t like the color of the ceiling’. You get sued in this world we’re living in, especially if your name is Trump,” he added.
