'Key to White House': Trump gifts 'special' golden key to Musk. What is it and how many people have it? WION Explains

US President Donald Trump held a press conference on Friday (May 30) in the Oval Office for Elon Musk as a farewell for his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This after Musk spent 130 days in Trump administration firing tens of thousands of civil servants and sparking dozens of lawsuits over potential misuse of Americans’ personal data.

Addressing the press, the US president called the Tesla CEO “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced”. The US president hailed Musk for leading “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.”

“Elon gave an incredible service. There’s nobody like him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he's an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90% of the country knows that, and they appreciate it, and they really appreciate what he did,” Trump said.

Apart from tons of praising words, the US president gifted the Tesla CEO a golden key. The large key was in a wooden box and the key dated back to Trump’s previous term as the 45th President of the United States: A “Key to the White House.”

But was the only person who received the “special” key from Trump? Nope.

'First key I’m giving to anyone'

In a 2022 book named Breaking History, Trump’s son-in-law and ex-senior adviser Jared Kushner recounted how he’d “whipped out” the same key for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2020. While giving the key to him, Trump told Netanyahu that the key was “a special token of affection, given by myself and the First Lady to the Prime Minister and the First Lady of Israel.”

“And it’s a key, we call it a key to the White House. And it’s a key to our country and to our hearts,” Trump said while handing the special gift to Netanyahu.

The book claimed that Trump told the Israeli PM that it was “the first key I’m giving to anyone.” He said that the key would let Netanyahu enter the White House even Trump is not the president.

Trump told Musk that the key was “a little special something” that he gives to “very special people” as “a presentation from our country.”