WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President may believe the adage that the pen is mightier than the sword 鈥� as long as it’s a Sharpie.
During a Cabinet meeting Thursday that discussed the , record-long at many of the nation’s top airports, and , the president interjected by holding up a custom-made black and gold Sharpie and offering a long story about how his preferred marker came to be a White House fixture.
鈥淪ee this pen right here?鈥� Trump said at the start of a roughly five-minute, on-and-off diatribe on the Sharpie. 鈥淭his pen is an interesting example.鈥�
It was one of several lengthy asides the president made during the meeting that sometimes felt especially jarring given how many more important things his top advisers could have been discussing.
The Sharpie monologue came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, envoy Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered sobering comments about missile strikes, Tehran’s uranium enrichment efforts and the U.S. troops that remain in harm’s way.
The president offered the winding tale as an example of how his business sense can lead to better, cheaper outcomes in federal spending. He was also seeking to drive home his broader, long-standing criticism that in Washington are too expensive.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gotta get our priorities straight,鈥� Trump said.
The anecdote began with Trump insisting that the White House was once stocked with 鈥渂eautiful鈥� ballpoint pens that cost $1,000 each.
That presented a problem, Trump said, when, during ceremonial bill signings, he would hand out pens as keepsakes to lawmakers, supporters and various others who helped make new legislation possible. Recipients even included children, whom he lamented did not know the value of what they’d been gifted.
鈥淪ometimes you have 30, 40 people,鈥� Trump said.
Despite being known for a love of all things ostentatious 鈥� including the he demolished the East Wing to build 鈥� Trump said giving away so many expensive pens meant 鈥淚 feel guilty by nature.鈥�
鈥淚 love the government like I love myself, economically,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚 want to save money.鈥�
The president said he worked with a marker maker and worried about giving the company involved too much publicity 鈥� only to divulge that it was Sharpie, a longtime favorite of his, drawing laughs from his Cabinet.
For decades as a celebrity businessman, Trump used the pens to sign autographs or mark up newspaper clippings and send them with personalized notes written in the telltale thick black ink. And, as president, Trump has continued to wield Sharpies to sign executive orders, proclamations and bills.
Trump said he contacted the company and was told that they could make a black pen with the White House logo in gold and that they wouldn’t charge for it. Trump said he insisted on paying $5 per marker. Online searches reveal that typical Sharpies sell for usually $1 to $2 apiece.
鈥淭he head of Sharpie gets a call. I don鈥檛 even know who the hell he is. He said, 鈥業s this really the president?鈥欌�� Trump said.
It was the most attention the marker has gotten at the White House since the 鈥� 鈥� scandal involving Hurricane Dorian during Trump鈥檚 first term. Still, Sharpie鈥檚 manufacturer, Atlanta-based Newell Brands, said in a statement that it didn鈥檛 have any information about the conversation Trump described, but that Sharpies are used by current and past U.S. presidents, elected officials, celebrities, athletes, and artists, among others.
Trump summed it up as 鈥渁 business story.鈥�
鈥淔or $5, I get a much better pen than for $1,000, and I can hand them out,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, honestly, they鈥檝e become hot as a pistol, so what can I tell you?鈥�
After concluding his Sharpie recollections, Trump took a moment to revel in his own storytelling ability before offering the floor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
鈥淕ood luck, Scott,鈥� he said as the rest of the Cabinet laughed again.
鈥淲ell, sir,鈥� Bessent offered, 鈥渁s usual, you鈥檙e a tough act to follow.鈥�
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