Trump finally emerged to speak at a hilariously tiny desk, and the internet had jokes
In the weeks since he lost the election, Trump has barely made any public appearances or statements outside of incessant all-caps tweeting, and hasn't fronted up to answer questions from reporters at all. Unless you're being extremely generous, you have to admit it looks a little bit as though he's sulking like a big giant baby.
So it's especially strange that when he finally emerged from his pillow fort in the Residence to do something other than golf, he chose to do it at what appeared to be a little baby desk for little babies.
The weirdly small desk! The weirdly vacuum-marked carpet! The weirdly naked Christmas tree! The weirdly un-anchored stand for the overhead mic teetering way above the president's actual head! It's just...so weird!
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Now, this small table appears to be the one (or one of several) often used when presidents sign major legislation, because it's easier to get a big crowd gathered around them for photos than it is at the hulking Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
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Trump even remarked about its size at just such an event in 2017, calling it "a child's desk" and joking that it was "glamorous."
But Trump wasn't signing a bill into law on Thursday — he was participating in a Thanksgiving address with members of the armed services, followed by a brief press session. And without a crowd of beaming allies around him, the vibe was decidedly less...presidential. (Though it would be unwise, pandemic and all, to have the president surrounded by people. Not that that usually stops him.) So yes, technically, it's a normal table for a president to use. It's just a deeply weird choice for this event.
And, of course, people had jokes.
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I'm sure that the fact "Resolute Desk" was trending on Twitter late on Thursday night (alongside #DiaperDon) had nothing to do with this mini tantrum about "fake" trends and conservative bias on social media.
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At the event, Trump said – for the first time since he lost the election – that yes, he would actually physically leave the White House if the electoral college confirmed Joe Biden as the next president. He also refused to confirm whether he'd attend Biden's inauguration, as is usual for an outgoing president; said it "would be a very hard thing" to concede, while not actually saying that he intended to do so at any point; and snapped at a reporter who tried to ask a follow-up: "Don't talk to me that way. I'm the President of the United States. Don't ever talk to the president that way."
But whether he likes it or not, he's only the president until January 20. The only question, at this point, is whether he'll ever manage to muster just the tiniest shred of dignity on his way out.
Topics Donald Trump Politics
Caitlin is Mashable's Australian Editor. She has written for The Guardian, Junkee, and any number of plucky little music and culture publications that were run on the smell of an oily rag and have since been flushed off the Internet like a dead goldfish by their new owners. She also worked at Choice, Australia's consumer advocacy non-profit and magazine, and as such has surprisingly strong opinions about whitegoods. She enjoys big dumb action movies, big clever action movies, cult Canadian comedies set in small towns, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Replacements, smoky mezcal, revenge bedtime procrastination, and being left the hell alone when she's reading.
