(Editorial Note: This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the views of staff or management of SavingAdvice.com or its parent company. In addition, you should know that this commentary was written at the urging of Elon Musk – well, sort of. Musk told a Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) meeting last weekend that “the left wanted to make comedy illegal, ya know.” He lamented that “you can’t make fun of anything”, then said some unspecified entity should “Legalize comedy.” I am just trying to do my part.)
You might expect a tale of adventure starring Harrison Ford, but no. This ripping yarn is entitled: “Mar-a-Lago Trump and the vault of Gold.” It features President Donald Trump and his trusted sidekick Meme Musk. That makes it an international undertaking since Musk is a dual citizen of South Africa and Canada.
(Editorial Note: the reference to the president as “Mar-a-Lago Trump” harkens back to his home/private club in Florida. Musk’s nickname is his own creation. He referred to himself by saying “I am become meme” at that CPAC event. You can view a portion of the event by clicking the link above or searching YouTube. Caution: If you are offended by a middle aged man with a middle aged spread in an undersized t-shirt dancing with a chainsaw – you might want to take a pass on the clip.)
Trump And The Vault of Gold – Or Not
Cue the familiar theme music for the Indiana Jones movies.
Our story opens with a closeup of the tip of a red necktie dangling well below the belt of a man in a blue suit. The camera pans up, up, up to the face of President Trump. It then zooms out to reveal that Trump is holding a lantern. Behind him, Elon Musk bumps into a wall because he can not see in the dark with his sunglasses on.
Suddenly there is a loud clanking sound followed by the noise of a gigantic vault door opening.
There is a burst of light as Trump’s lantern shines on thousands of gold bars.
What’s Really Going On
Ok. The above might be a good opening for a fictional movie (Steven Spielberg – call me!) But it does not explain what is behind Trump’s pledge to inspect the gold vault at Fort Knox?
Several times over the past week, Trump has said he would send Musk or bring him on an investigation of gold reserves housed at Fort Knox.
Flying back to Washington last week, a reporter asked the president if Musk would be making cuts at the Pentagon.
Either avoiding the question or misinterpreting it, Trump responded that Musk would be inspecting gold reserves at the Kentucky military base.
Asked why, Trump said, “To make sure the gold is there.”
During a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Trump elaborated
“We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there,” said Trump, “because maybe somebody stole the gold, tons of gold.”
What Started The Case Of The Vanished Gold
As with many things in Trump, MAGA and DOGE worlds – the idea of gold disappearing from Ft. Knox began with a conspiracy theory on right-wing radio and podcasts. That was enough for Musk who has been posting about it regularly.
“Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Ft. Knox?” Posted Musk.
To get an answer, Musk might have asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“We do an audit every year and all the gold is present and accounted for,” Bessent said in a recent interview.
Bessert even offered an invitation to any member of Congress who would like to tour the vault, to call him to schedule an inspection.
If that wasn’t enough, Musk or Trump could ask Steve Mnuchin, who was treasury secretary during the first Trump administration. Mnuchin, several members of Congress and then Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin visited the vault in 2017.
Other Motives
The president has said an inspection of Fort Knox would be to verify that all gold is still there. However, there might be other motives for such a visit.
Trump’s poll numbers are trending down from an all-time personal high achieved in late January. At that time most tracking polls showed his favorability rating just below 50 percent. The most recent (February 23 – 25) Economist/YouGov poll shows that 47 percent of respondents view him favorably. At the same time, 50 percent view him unfavorably.
Look a little farther down in the Economist/YouGov poll and you will find that Elon Musk is even less popular than Trump. He is viewed positively by 43% of respondents while 50% disapprove.
Bombasts from Trump are often a means of seizing the political narrative to distract us from more serious problems. It’s sort of like trying to distract a cat by dangling a shiny object. And, there is no more shiny object than gold.
Gold And Money
Some people may think that our currency is tied to the gold standard. That is the monetary system in which the value of currency is linked to a fixed value for gold. However, it is not. In addition, the gold standard was only employed by the United States for brief periods until 1971. At that time the government ended the ability to convert dollars into gold.
If we were allowed to convert cash for gold, we would have to move quickly. That is because, if all Americans wanted to trade their money in checking and savings accounts for gold, the treasury would run out of gold after only 3.5 percent was redeemed, according to Bullion Vault.
The value of money is not, and has not been, based on gold reserves for a long time. Money has value because we believe it has value. What really backs money is the “full faith and credit” of the government that issues it. That is why the U. S. dollar is the monetary standard other currencies are valued against – worldwide.
Nothing supports a national currency, such as the U. S. dollar, like national stability. That seems to be a problem for an administration that threatens tariffs against our top three trading partners, insults and alienates our allies, embraces dictators such as Vladimir Putin, and thinks government efficiency means haphazardly eliminating jobs and programs that have served our long-range interest for decades.
Why Just Fort Knox
If Trump and Musk were really concerned about the nation’s gold reserves, why are they limiting their adventures to Ft. Knox?
Only about half of the gold reserve, 147.3 million ounces, are stored at Fort Knox, according to the U. S. Mint. The rest is held in facilities around the country from West Point to Denver.
Then again, if Trump and/or Musk went to all the reserves at once, we would not be able to make sequels for “Mara-Lardo: Trump and the Vault of Gold”.
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