- President Donald Trump said his administration will check whether the nation’s gold reserves are still in Fort Knox. “If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset,” Trump said Wednesday.
- The nation’s gold depository holds 147.3 million ounces of bullion, according to the U.S. Mint. It’s about half of the Treasury’s stored gold.
- Aside from gold, the vaults at Fort Knox also housed precious documents like the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights during World War II.
Full Story
President Donald Trump wants to ensure the nation’s 147 million ounces of gold are still housed at Fort Knox. The increased interest in the gold depository comes as Elon Musk puts it in the Department of Government Efficiency’s sights.
Media Landscape
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Left 32%
Center 25%
Right 43%
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“We’re going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there,” Trump said aboard Air Force One Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The latest movement to audit Fort Knox’s gold reserve has been playing out on X.
Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.
That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there. https://t.co/aEBXK1CfD6
“Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox?” Musk asked on X Monday, Feb. 17, in response to a post by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. “Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not. That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there.”
Musk also posted, “It would be cool to do a live video walkthrough of Fort Knox,” in response to a post from Alex Jones.
Point phone camera here
Has anyone checked on the gold at Fort Knox?
Despite the social media chatter on the issue, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there’s nothing to worry about.
EXCLUSIVE: @USTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirms to me that yes, there is still gold in Fort Knox. pic.twitter.com/NUQzYrexZI
— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) February 19, 2025
“We do an audit every year,” Bessent said during an interview with the “Dan O’Donnell Show” Wednesday, Feb. 19. “So the audit that ended the year Sept. 30, 2024, all the gold is present and accounted for.”
One X post Musk responded to was from Sen. Lee, who asserted he has tried to secure a visit to Fort Knox and has been repeatedly rebuffed.
However, Bessent said the door is open to United States senators.
“Any senator, if they call the Treasury, we’re happy to arrange a visit,” Bessent told O’Donnell. “They can do an inspection.”
Is it true Congress hasn’t had a peek in 50 years?
In 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first administration, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hosted then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the state’s then-Gov. Matt Bevin at the nation’s gold depository.
“I was given a chance to do something today, which I did that no governor in the history of Kentucky has ever done, and only one president in the history of America has ever done,” Bevin told NewsRadio 840 WHAS after the visit. “I actually went into the gold vaults with Secretary Mnuchin today at Fort Knox.”
Mnuchin said the visit was the first time in 40 years they opened the vault doors at Fort Knox to outsiders.
“I saw tons, literally, of gold,” Bevin said. “And it really is there. Either that or it’s remarkable how much fake gold they have. They let us hold some of the gold bricks. We got to go into one of the vaults; they seal these things, so it was unsealed. While we were there, they cut it open. And then we got to go inside.”
“All I will say is that it is freakishly well-secured, and it takes a very great amount of time to get in there and to get out,” he added. “I can’t go into detail other than to say the gold is safe.”
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What’s the history behind the Fort Knox vaults?
Fort Knox’s gold bullion depository was built in the 1930s. It was originally meant to be a centralized location for the nation’s reserve gold after an executive order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt that banned private gold hoarding.
Today, it holds more than half of the Treasury’s total gold supply, according to the U.S. Mint.
In the past, the vaults have been used to house important pieces of American history. During World War II, the government stashed the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
[Donald Trump]
“If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset.”
[Simone Del Rosario]
The Trump administration is taking up a new cause… verifying the 147 million ounces of American gold held within Fort Knox.
[DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE]
“I would not give up McClane for all the gold in your Fort Knox.”
[Simone Del Rosario]
It accounts for half of the U.S. Treasury’s stash.
[Trump]
“We hope everything’s fine with Fort Knox, but we’re going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there.”
[Simone Del Rosario]
Whether or not the nation’s gold is still housed in the fabled vaults has been a topic of conversation in certain circles for years.
It picked up steam on Sunday as Elon Musk responded to a post from ZeroHedge, calling for him to make sure the gold is still there.
Musk said surely it is reviewed every year. And surely, that is the case.
[Dan O’Donnell]
I have to ask you, the question everybody wants to know from the Treasury Department. Is there actually still gold in Fort Knox.
Scott Bessent: We do an audit every year. So the audit that ended the year, September 30, 2024, all the gold is present and accounted for.
[Simone Del Rosario]
In the early hours of Monday, Musk responded to a post from conspiracy theorist and right-wing talker Alex Jones, who claims it’s “missing gold.” Musk wrote, “It would be cool to do a live video walkthrough of Fort Knox!”
That same day, Musk posted “Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox? Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.”
That one came in response to a curious post from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.
“As a U.S. senator I’ve tried repeatedly to get into Fort Knox
Fort Knox: “You can’t come to Fort Knox.”
Me: “Why?”
Fort Knox: “It’s a military installation.”
Me: “I’m a senator; I go to military bases all the time.”
Fort Knox: “You still can’t come. Because, you can’t.”
Scott Bessent:
Any Senator, if they call the Treasury, We’re happy to arrange a visit. They can do an inspection.
[Simone Del Rosario]
Lee has been in the United States Senate since 2011. In 2017, during President Trump’s first administration, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hosted Kentucky politicians at the Kentucky-based gold depository. He was joined by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the state’s then-governor Matt Bevin.
[Matt Bevin]
I was given a chance to do something today, which I did that no governor in the history of Kentucky has ever done, and only one president in the history of America has ever done. I actually went into the gold vaults with Secretary Mnuchin today at Fort Knox.
[Simone Del Rosario]
The Bevin-McConnell trip also refutes the ZeroHedge assertion that it hadn’t been entered in 50 years. It was 40 years at that point.
[Matt Bevin]
I saw tons, literally, of gold. And it really is there either that or it’s remarkable how much fake gold they have. But it was, I mean, you can they let us hold some of the gold bricks. We got to go into one of the vaults, which they had not they seal these things so it was unsealed. While we were there, they cut it open. And then we got to go inside.
All I will say is that it is freakishly well secured, and it takes a very great deal amount of time to get in there and to get out they it is, I can’t go into detail other than to say the gold is safe.
[Simone Del Rosario]
Fort Knox’s gold bullion depository was built in the 1930s. It was originally meant to be a centralized location for the nation’s reserve gold after an executive order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt that banned private gold hoarding.
Today it holds more than half of the Treasury’s total gold supply, according to the U.S. Mint.
In the past, it’s been used to house important pieces of American history. During World War II, the government stashed the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights in the vault.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn more
Left 32%
Center 25%
Right 43%
Bias Summary
Bias Comparison
Media outlets on the left
highlight President Trump’s casual comments about checking Fort Knox’s gold, using informal language that implies skepticism without explicitly stating it.
Media outlets on the right
present a formal announcement, framing the investigation as a serious initiative with emphasized collaborations and concerns about transparency.
Report an issue with this comparison
Bias Distribution
39 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
39
Leaning Left
9
Center
7
Leaning Right
12
Last Updated
1 day ago
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