Unusual gifts received by US presidents include a gold snuff box, giant pandas, elephant tusks and personalized rugs
The White House may be courting controversy with President Trump's plans to accept a luxury jumbo jet from the Qatari government, worth $400 million, as the potential new Air Force One — but his administration wouldn't be the first to welcome lavish gifts from foreign leaders.
The practice goes all the way back to the founding of the country in 1776, with US leaders receiving all manner of exotic and expensive gifts from royalty and heads of government around the world.
Abraham Lincoln politely declined a gift of a herd of elephants from the King of Siam, modern day Thailand, in 1862. But he kept 'a sword of costly materials and exquisite workmanship,' a photo of the monarch's family and two elephant tusks, according to a letter Lincoln sent to King Mongkut.
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8 A handmade rug featuring a likeness of Bill and Hillary Clinton was a gift from Azerbaijan's president Heydar Aliyev in 1997.
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8 To commemorate Richard Nixon's visit to China, the Chinese government presented the US with giant pandas Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing in 1974. They were donated to Washington's National Zoo where they lived for more than two decades.
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In 1880, Queen Victoria sent an intricately carved, 1,300-pound wooden desk to President Rutherford Hayes that was constructed from the oak timbers of the HMS Resolute, an Arctic exploration vessel. The desk was still in use in the Oval Office under the Biden administration but was temporarily removed in February for refinishing, according to reports.
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British Prime Minister Winston Churchill presented Franklin D. Roosevelt with a painting he did of Marrakech's Koutoubia Mosque in 1943. Hollywood actor Brad Pitt bought the work in New Orleans for $2.95 million as a gift for his then-wife Angelina Jolie, who sold it a decade later for $11.5 million.
8 In 1880, Queen Victoria presented US President Rutherford Hayes with a 1,300 pound desk that is still used in the Oval Office.
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Richard Nixon accepted a gift of two giant pandas from China in 1972 following the US president's visit to the Communist country. Female panda Ling-Ling and her male mate Hsing-Hsing were given to the National Zoo in Washington DC.
In 1997, President Clinton and wife Hillary received the gift of a handmade rug with their pictures woven into the tapestry as a gift from Azerbaijan's leader Heydar Aliyev. The six-by-five-foot rug was completed in a single day by a team of 12 women, according to reports.
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President George W. Bush received 300 pounds of raw lamb in 2003 as a goodwill gesture from Argentina's then president Nestor Kirchner. Bush also received a puppy from Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. At the end of his presidency Bush and his wife Laura then bought the two-month old Bulgarian Goran shepherd, named Balkan of Gorannadraganov, from the government and gave it to friends in Maryland.
His father, George H.W. Bush was gifted a Komodo dragon by the President of Indonesia in 1990.
8 Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill presented his US counterpart Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a painting of a Marrakech mosque in 1943. The painting was sold at auction in 2021 by Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie for $11.5 million.
8 In 1862, Abraham Lincoln politely declined a gift of a herd of elephants from the King of Siam.
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One of the most lavish and controversial gifts was a gold and diamond snuff box given to Benjamin Franklin after his nine-year diplomatic tour of duty in France.
In 1785, King Louis XVI gave the Founding Father the elaborate parting gift which featured a miniature image of the monarch encrusted with 408 diamonds 'of a beautiful water.'
It raised questions about corruption and foreign influence on officials in the newly formed American government, wrote Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout in her 2014 book, 'Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United.'
8 Founding Father and diplomat Benjamin Franklin came under fire for accepting a lavish snuff box as a parting gift from Louis XVI when he returned to the US after serving nine years in Paris.
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Despite the hand-wringing over whether the gift entailed undue foreign influence, Franklin insisted upon keeping the box. The incident later contributed to the passage of the Emoluments Clause in the US Constitution, which prohibits federal government officials from accepting any gift from the representative of a foreign state without the consent of Congress.
Franklin's daughter Sarah, who inherited the snuff box, gradually removed the diamonds to sell or give to family members. Hundreds of years later, only one diamond remained.The box is now at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.
8 Robes lined with cheetah fur given to Donald Trump from Saudi Arabia during his first trip abroad as president in 2021 turned out to be fake.
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8 President Trump said he is in the process of negotiating with Qatar for a new jumbo jet that would double as AirForce One while he is in the White House. Later, the plane would be donated to a Trump presidential center.
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Federal law requires executive branch officials to disclose any gift from a foreign government valued at $480 or more. Presidents are allowed to keep gifts to display at a presidential library, but cannot keep them for personal use unless they pay the fair market price.
Trump has said that the $400 million new Air Force One plane would be donated to his presidential center or library after his term.
Despite his administration's insistence that the jet is a gesture of goodwill to the US government, ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about transparency and foreign influence, particularly given Qatar's efforts to bolster its profile in Washington over the past decade.
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More recently, Trump received a sword, dagger and three robes lined with white tiger and cheetah fur from Saudi Arabia's royal family on his first trip abroad as president in 2017.
The president held onto the items until he left office and did not disclose them as gifts but gave them to the General Services Administration. The pieces were later seized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which found that the fur was fake, according to reports.
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18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Transcript: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," June 1, 2025
The following is the transcript of an interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 1, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to 'Face the Nation.' We begin today with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Good morning and thank you for being here. SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Morning, Margaret. MARGARET BRENNAN: There's so much to get to. I want to start with China, because the Defense Secretary just said there's an imminent military threat from China to Taiwan. Days earlier, Secretary Rubio said he'd aggressively revoked Chinese student visas. On top of that, you have curbing exports to China. Trade talks you said with Beijing are stalled, and President Trump just accused China of violating an agreement, and now says no more, 'Mr. Nice Guy.' Are you intentionally escalating this standoff with Beijing? SEC. BESSENT: Well, I don't think it's intentional. I- I think that what Secretary Hegseth did was remind everyone that during COVID, China was an unreliable partner, and what we are trying to do is to de-risk. We do not want to decouple Margaret, but we do need to de-risk, as we saw during COVID, whether it was with semiconductors, medicines, the other products we are in the process of de-risking. MARGARET BRENNAN: Making the United States less reliant on China, but at the same-- SEC. BESSENT: --Well, and the whole world. The whole world, because what China is doing is they are holding back products that are essential for the industrial supply chains of India, of Europe, and that is not what a reliable partner does. MARGARET BRENNAN: So is that like- what specifically is President Trump saying when he says they are violating an agreement? Because it was the one you negotiated in Geneva earlier this month. And what's the consequence for that? SEC. BESSENT: Well, we will see what the consequences are. I am confident that when President Trump and party Chairman Xi have a call, that this will be ironed out. So- but the fact that they are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement- maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the President speaks with party chairman. MARGARET BRENNAN: That's critical minerals, rare earths. Is that what you're talking about? SEC. BESSENT: Yes. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, the President has said a few times that he was going to speak to President Xi, but he hasn't since before the inauguration. Beijing keeps denying that there was any contact. Do you have anything scheduled? SEC. BESSENT: I believe we'll see something very soon, Margaret. MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have a conversation with your counterpart or Lutnick with his counterpart at the commerce level? SEC. BESSENT: Well, I think we're going to let the two principles have a conversation, and then everything will stem from that. MARGARET BRENNAN: JP Morgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, spoke this week at an economic forum, and he gave this read on Beijing. [SOT] JAMIE DIMON: I just got back from China last week. They're not scared, folks. This notion they're gonna come bow to America. I wouldn't count on that. And when they have a problem, they put 100,000 engineers on it, and they've been preparing for this for years. [END SOT] MARGARET BRENNAN: Have you underestimated the Chinese state's backbone here? SEC. BESSENT: Again, Margaret, I hope it doesn't come to that. And Jamie is a great banker. I know him well, but I would vociferously disagree with that assessment, that the laws of economics and gravity apply to the Chinese economy and the Chinese system, just like everyone else. MARGARET BRENNAN: But when you were last here in March, we were trying to gauge what the impact of the standoff with China and with the tariffs on the rest of the world would do for American consumers here at home. At that time, you told us you were going to appoint an affordability czar and council to figure out five, you said, or eight areas where there will be some pain for working class Americans. Where are you anticipating price increases? SEC. BESSENT: Well, thus far- we wanted to make sure that there aren't price increases, Margaret. And thus far there have been no price increases. Everything has been alarmist, that the inflation numbers are actually dropping. We saw the first drop of inflation in four years. The inflation numbers last week, they were very- the- pro-consumer. We've-- MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but you listen to earnings calls just like we do. You know what Walmart's saying, what Best Buy's saying and what Target are saying of what's coming-- SEC. BESSENT: But Margaret, I also know what Home Depot and Amazon are saying. I know what the South China Morning Post wrote within the past 24 hours that 65%- 65%- the- of the tariffs will likely be eaten by the Chinese producers. MARGARET BRENNAN: So are there five or eight areas that you have identified, as you said back in March, where American consumers will be able to have lower prices, or should be warned of higher prices? SEC. BESSENT: Well, a lot of it's already working its way through the system. So we've seen a substantial decrease in gasoline and energy prices. So that's down 20% year over year. We've seen the food prices go down, these notorious egg prices. Through the good work of President Trump and Secretary Rollins, egg prices have collapsed. So we're seeing more and more. And what we want to do- the- is even that out across the all sections of the economy. So inflation has been very tame. Consumer earnings were up 0.8% last month, which is a gigantic increase for one month. So real earnings minus low inflation is great for the American people, and that's what we're seeing. MARGARET BRENNAN: But you know, because when you met with the Chinese earlier this month and you went down from the 145% tariff down to about- it's like 30%. 30%'s not nothing, that tax on goods coming in here. Retailers are warning of price hikes-- SEC. BESSENT: Well, so-- MARGARET BRENNAN: When you go back to school shopping, things are going to cost more. SEC. BESSENT: But Margaret, some are and some aren't. Home Depot and Amazon said they're not. MARGARET BRENNAN: Home Depot and Amazon aren't where you go for your back school shopping, when you buy your jeans, when you buy your crayons, and you buy all those things that parents-- SEC. BESSENT: I don't know about you, but I do it online at Amazon. This isn't an advertisement for Amazon. And guess where most of the Halloween costumes in America get bought? At Home Depot. So that's just not right. There's a wide aperture here. Different companies are doing different things. They are making decisions based on their customers, what they think they're able to pass along to their customers, what they want to do to keep their customers. And I was in the investment business for 35 years, Margaret, and I will tell you earnings calls- they have to give the worst case scenario, because if it- if they haven't and something bad happens, then they'll be sued. MARGARET BRENNAN: It's not always the worst case. It's the most probable case-- SEC. BESSENT: --No, no, no-- MARGARET BRENNAN: as well-- SEC. BESSENT: --No, no, no. No, they have to give the worst case. MARGARET BRENNAN: So Walmart- there was just a piece published with the conservative strategist Karl Rove. I'm not asking about politics, because he is a political strategist, but he went in on the math here. And he points out that Walmart has a profit margin of less than 3%. He says, 'If it does what Mr. Trump says, eat the tariffs, it can't break even. It can't absorb the cost of an imported pair of kids jeans with a 46% tariff on Vietnam, a 37% tariff for Bangladesh, or 32% tariff on sneakers from Indonesia. Other companies are in the same pickle.' So should companies cut back on the amount of goods they have on their shelves or just on their profitability? SEC. BESSENT: That- that's a decision company by- by company, Margaret. And I had a long discussion with Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, and they're going to do what's right for them. MARGARET BRENNAN: But for consumers, the reality is there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices, or both. SEC. BESSENT: Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn't been any inflation. Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don't we stop trying to say this could happen, and wait and see what does happen. MARGARET BRENNAN: Just trying to gauge for people planning ahead here, one of the things the President said on Friday is that he's going to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum up to 50%, effective June 4. How much will that impact the construction industry? SEC. BESSENT: Well, I think- I was with the president at the U.S. Steel Plant in Pittsburgh on Friday, and I will tell you that the President has the- reignited the steel industry here in America. And back to the earlier statements on national security. There are national security priorities here for having a strong steel industry. MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you have a prediction on how much it's going to impact the construction industry, for example? SEC. BESSENT: Well, I have a prediction on how much it's going to impact the steel industry, and you know, again, we- we'll see there are a lot of elasticities that- you know this is a very complicated ecosystem. So is it going to impact the construction industry, maybe. But it's going to impact the steel industry, the- in a great way. The steel workers, again, were left on the side of the road after the China shock, and now they're back that the- they are Trump supporters. And when I tell you that it was magic in the arena, or it was actually at the steel plant that night, that these hard working Americans know their jobs are secure, there's going to be capital investment, and the number of jobs is going to be grown around the country, whether it's in Pittsburgh, whether it's in Arkansas, whether it's in Alabama. MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about this big tax bill that worked through the House, is going to the Senate next. In it is increase or suspension to the debt limit that you need delivered on by mid-July. How close of a brush with default could this be, given how massive some of the Senate changes are expected to be to the other parts of the bill? SEC. BESSENT: Well, first of all, Margaret, I will say the United States of America is never going to default. That is never going to happen. That- we are on the warning track and we will never hit the wall. MARGARET BRENNAN: You have more wiggle room if they don't deliver this by mid-July? I mean, how hard of a date is this? SEC. BESSENT: That- we don't give out the X date because we use that to move the bill forward. MARGARET BRENNAN: Sometimes deadlines help force action, as you know, particularly in this town, sir, that's why I'm asking. The President did say he- he expects pretty significant changes to this bill, though, so that affects the timing of it moving. What would you like Republican lawmakers to keep? What would you like them to alter? SEC. BESSENT: Again, that's going to be the Senate's decision. Leader Thune, who I've worked closely with during this process, has been doing a fantastic job. And Margaret, I'll point out, everyone said that Speaker Johnson would not be able to get this bill out of the house with his slim majority. He got it out Leader Thune has a bigger majority, and this is with President Trump's leadership. So-- MARGARET BRENNAN: --There's no red lines for you in there of just don't touch this you can, you know, tinker with that. SEC. BESSENT: Well, I- I think that they're not necessarily my red lines. The President has the- his campaign promises that he wants to fulfill for working Americans. So no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans for American made automobiles. MARGARET BRENNAN: So those have to stay in. SEC. BESSENT: Those have to stay in. MARGARET BRENNAN: JP Morgan's Dimon also predicted a debt market crisis. 'Cracks in the bond market' was what he said. You are considering easing some regulations, you've said, for the big banks. How do you avoid that bond market crisis he's predicting, spreading and really causing concern, particularly with all of the worries about American debt right now? SEC. BESSENT: So again, I've known Jamie a long time and for his entire career he's made predictions like this. Fortunately, none of them have come true. That's why he's a banker- a great banker. He tries to look around the corner. One of the reasons I'm sitting here talking to you today and not at home watching your show is that I was concerned about the level of debt. So the deficit this year is going to be lower than the deficit last year, and in two years it will be lower again. We are going to bring the deficit down slowly. We didn't get here in one year. We didn't get here in one year, and this has been a long process. So the goal is to bring it down over the next four years, leave the country in great shape in 2028. MARGARET BRENNAN: You know that the Speaker of the House estimates this is going to add four to five trillion dollars over the next 10 years, and there's that debt limit increase. SEC. BESSENT: Well again, Margaret, that's CBO scoring. MARGARET BRENNAN: That's the Speaker of the House. SEC. BESSENT: No, no, no. MARGARET BRENNAN: He said it last Sunday on this program. SEC. BESSENT: The- he said that's the CBO scoring. Let me-- MARGARET BRENNAN: --No, he said that sounds right. SEC. BESSENT: Let me tell you what's not included in there, what can't be scored. So we're taking in substantial tariff income right now, so that there are estimates that that could be another 2 trillion that we are the- pushing through savings. So you know my estimate is that could be up to another 100 billion a year. So over the 10 year window, that could be a trillion. President has a prescription drug plan with the pharmaceutical companies that could substantially push down costs for prescription drugs, and that could be another trillion. So there's the four. MARGARET BRENNAN: Treasury Secretary Bessent, we'll be watching closely what happens next. 'Face the Nation' will be back in a minute, so stay with us.
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
UK bans single-use vapes to stem use by children and reduce harmful litter
LONDON (AP) — A ban on disposable vapes came into force across the U.K. on Sunday as the British government aims to stem their use by children, reduce litter and prevent the leaking of harmful chemicals into the environment. The ban makes it illegal for any retailer — online or in-store — to sell vapes, whether they contain nicotine or not. They will still be able to sell reusable vapes. The crackdown follows the soaring use of disposable vapes in schools and a rising tide of trash as users dispose of the vapes. It is estimated that as many as 5 million disposable vapes are thrown in bins or littered every week across the U.K., rather than being recycled. A number of countries are seeking to regulate the vape market, which has grown exponentially over the past decade or so. Australia outlawed the sale of vapes outside pharmacies last year in some of the world's toughest restrictions on electronic cigarettes, while Belgium became the first European Country to ban the use of disposable vapes at the start of this year. California has been at the forefront of bringing in new regulations in the U.S. The U.K.'s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said usage among young people remained too high, and the ban would 'put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation's streets.' Also known as single-use vapes, disposable vapes are non-refillable and unable to be recharged, and are typically thrown away with general waste or just thrown on the street. Even when they are recycled, they need to be taken apart by hand, while their batteries are a fire risk to recycling facilities and can leak harmful chemicals into the environment and potentially harming wildlife. Businesses were given six months to prepare for the change by selling any existing stock. Rogue traders who continue to sell them risk a fine of 200 ($260) in the first instance, followed by an unlimited fine or jail time for repeat offending. The U.K. Vaping Industry Association said its members had moved quickly to comply with the June 1 deadline, but warned of 'serious unintended consequences' emanating from too much regulation. 'We are concerned that this ban will encourage former smokers who have already transitioned from cigarettes, which kill 220 people every day in the U.K, to return to combustible tobacco or opt for unregulated vapes,' said its director general, John Dunne. Separately, the British government is legislating to potentially restrict the packaging, marketing and flavors of e-cigarettes.
San Francisco Chronicle
37 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins aid ship sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel's blockade
ROME (AP) — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists will set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at 'breaking Israel's siege' of the devastated territory, organizers said. The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition -- will embark from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy. It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise 'international awareness' over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure. 'We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,' Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech. 'Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it's not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,' she added. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic 'blood libel.' In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory. U.N. agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Among those joining the crew of the Madleen are 'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent. She has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza. The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped. Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organizing massive teen protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month. That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group's vessels, the 'Conscience', was attacked by two alleged drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war. The Israeli government says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, 23 of whom are believed to be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless. The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilians. 'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' said activist Thiago Avila. Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza -- an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media -- which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.
