President Trump says the famous Oval Office desk where Elon Musk’s son seemed to wipe his finger after picking his nose during his father’s impromptu press conference is now out for a light touch-up. In the meantime, the president is using a desk once used by the elder President Bush. 

Mr. Trump announced late Wednesday night that the Resolute Desk — which is the one most often used in the Oval Office — would be removed from the room temporarily while it is being “lightly refinished.” The decision to swap out the desk came just days after Mr. Musk’s son was seen picking his nose while standing next to the president, and wiping his finger on the surface. 

The world’s richest man, who has now been anointed as a senior advisor to the president, held a wide-range discussion standing in the Oval Office with his 4-year-old son, who is known simply as X. The child’s mother, Grimes, has objected to her son’s presence at these kinds of public events, though that hasn’t stopped Mr. Musk from parading him to nearly every public event he attends. 

“Little X,” as Mr. Trump calls him, captured the attention of many watching the joint Musk–Trump presser, given that he was seen moving around, possibly whispering something to the president himself, and even putting his finger in his nose. 

After the nose-picking incident, the president will temporarily use what is known as the “C&O Desk” while the Resolute Desk undergoes its refurbishments. It got the name because it is one of four that were designed for the leaders of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, only to later be gifted to the White House. President H.W. Bush was the only commander-in-chief to use the C&O Desk permanently during his four years in the White House. Besides Bush’s term, the desk has been used in other rooms at the White House, including private studies. 

“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!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, including a photo of the much smaller desk. 

Every executive since President Clinton — including Mr. Trump himself — has exclusively used the Resolute Desk for their Oval Office setup. The first president to use the Resolute Desk was President Kennedy, after which it was moved to another part of the White House until President Carter was elected, at which point both Carter and President Reagan used it in the Oval Office.