A curious Trump to visit Kentucky: ‘Did anybody steal the gold in Fort Knox?’
President Donald Trump says he’s coming to Kentucky to check the country’s gold supply at Fort Knox.
The plans come after comments from senior adviser to the president Elon Musk and Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) suggesting the gold is no longer at the sprawling facility about 90 miles west of Lexington, according to The Hill.
Trump said he personally plans to make the trip, but when that will happen hasn’t been shared.
“We’re getting a little bit shaky. We’re getting the yips on this stuff. Like I want to find out,” Trump said at a Thursday reception in Washington, D.C.., according to The Hill.
“We’re going to open up the doors. I’m going to see if we have gold there. Did anybody steal the gold in Fort Knox?”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed to Don O’Donnell, of the Dan O’Donnell Show, the gold is still at Fort Knox. Bessent also told O’Donnell he’s happy to host senators interested in inspecting the facility.
“We do an audit every year, so the audit that ended the year Sept. 30, 2024, all the gold is present and accounted for,” Bessent told O’Donnell Wednesday.
About half of the Treasury’s gold is stored at the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, according to the U.S. Mint. Fort Knox is located about 35 miles south from Louisville in Bullitt, Hardin and Meade counties.
The depository holds 147.3 million ounces of gold along with other valuables of other federal agencies, according to the Mint.
Only very small quantities have been removed from the depository for testing during regular audits, according to the Mint. No other amounts of gold have been transferred to or from the facility for many years.
The building is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault, according to the Mint.
Construction of the depository was completed in December 1936, one year after the land was transferred from the military to the Treasury Department, according to the Mint. The first shipment of gold arrived one month later from the Philadelphia Mint and New York Assay Office.
The average gold bar in the facility weighs 27.5 pounds, according to the Mint.
The depository operates on a strict no -isitors policy. It has only been opened twice to non-authorized personnel, according to the Mint.
In 1974, journalists and a Congressional delegation viewed the gold reserves after rumors arose all the gold had been removed. In 2017, then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Congressional representatives also visited the vaults.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
