From an explosive sit-down with the chief of war-torn Ukraine to an unexpectedly pleasant assembly with a democratic socialist mayor-elect, the Oval Office has hosted some of the most dramatic moments of President Donald Trump’s first year again in workplace.
The president typically gathers the press in the storied area to signal payments and govt orders or to host conferences with world leaders, answering reporters’ questions on all method of matters and typically mixing critical international coverage dialogue with unrelated issues. Just final week, for instance, he appeared to dial back threats to strike Iran whereas a bottle of complete milk — half of a scheduled announcement on school lunch policy — sat in entrance of him on the Resolute Desk.
Here are just some notable moments inside the Oval Office this previous year.
” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”pictureLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″/>Musk’s 4-year-old son by his aspect for Trump political occasions
” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”pictureLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″ loading=’lazy’/>Long earlier than their public breakup (and make-up), Elon Musk was sometimes called Trump’s “first buddy.” And that affection was on full show in February, when Musk and his younger son X Æ A-12, aged 5, joined Trump in the Oval.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Musk stated, sporting a black MAGA hat, as cameras arrange. “Come here often?”
Trump is fairly well-known for awkward moments with youngsters (that is the man who told a 7-year-old that belief in Santa Claus was “marginal,”) and the interplay with Musk’s son didn’t disappoint.
The boy, in a tiny camel coat, began making sounds at the press. Trump turned to him. “X, are you OK? This is X, and he’s a great guy. High IQ. He’s a high IQ individual,” Trump stated.
And in maybe the most weird second, Musk had his son on his shoulders whereas a reporter questioned him about the misleading claim that the United States was sending $50 million value of condoms to Gaza
Trump’s tense encounters with world leaders are notorious. But it wasn’t at all times hostile when his international counterparts visited the Oval. When UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer got here to the White House in February, he introduced a present that clearly struck a chord with Trump.
“It is a pleasure to bring from his majesty the king — he sends his best wishes and regards, of course,” Starmer stated, presenting Trump with a letter inviting the US president to Buckingham Place for a historic second state go to.
Trump learn the letter silently for a number of seconds, earlier than saying, “Well, that is really nice. I must make sure his signature’s on that, because otherwise, it’s not quite as meaningful — it is, that is quite a signature.”
February 28: Trump and Vance chastise Zelensky
Hear how JD Vance described what occurred throughout Zelensky assembly
Things weren’t so good when Trump, who’d promised to finish Russia’s warfare in Ukraine on “Day 1” again in workplace, hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just a bit over a month after returning to the White House. After Vice President JD Vance argued for diplomacy, Zelensky appeared to push again barely, pointing to Russian Vladimir Putin’s historical past of breaking ceasefire agreements and suggesting his phrase was to not be trusted.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” Zelensky stated.
Then Trump jumped in, and things soon went off the rails.
“You don’t have the cards right now,” the US president stated. “With us, you start having cards.”
Trump additionally stated that Zelensky was “gambling with World War III.”
The second marked a low level in Trump and Zelensky’s relationship. Vance attacked Zelensky for a perceived lack of gratitude: “Have you said thank you once?” Vance said. “In this entire meeting have you said thank you once?” And although issues have since improved (a go to later in the year went significantly better for Zelensky), Trump nonetheless appears to carry a wariness towards his Ukrainian counterpart.
Not everybody who appeared with Trump in the Oval Office was thrilled to be there. Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drew reward from Trump when he unexpectedly invited her in, and {a photograph} of her holding a folder over her face went viral.
A Whitmer spokesperson told NCS that “the governor was surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office during President Trump’s press conference without any notice of the subject matter. Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.” She’d been at the White House that day for a non-public assembly with Trump to debate points regarding Michigan, together with the affect of tariffs on the automotive business.
May 6: Trump and Carney banter over Canada as the 51st state
New Canadian PM tells Trump Canada “not for sale”
In different administrations, a White House assembly with the Canadian prime minister may not have made waves — simply two allies and neighbors speaking shared priorities. But when Mark Carney got here to the Oval Office in May, Trump was requested about his feedback about Canada changing into America’s 51st state. And he didn’t precisely again down, calling the border an “artificially drawn line.”
Carney held his floor, and stored the tone mild: “Well, if I may, as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one right now,” he responded. And whereas issues by no means devolved like they did with Zelensky, Trump made clear he wasn’t backing down from the concept of making Canada a US state.
“Never say never,” the US president stated.
” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”pictureLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″/>Trump ambushes Ramaphosa with “White Genocide” falsehoods
” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”pictureLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″ loading=’lazy’/>When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid a go to to the Oval, Trump got here ready.
Asking his workers to dim the lights, the US president performed a virtually five-minute video alleging White genocide in Ramaphosa’s nation on a TV display that was positioned in the again of the room.
“Turn the lights down, and just put this on,” Trump stated.
Ramaphosa appeared shocked and disputed the allegations. A NCS reality verify discovered Trump’s claims were false.
Often, the White House lists an occasion as “Closed Press” on its day by day steering to reporters about what they may see, solely to open it up moments beforehand. But the bilateral meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the White House, a historic first, remained closed.
This may not have been a present for cameras like different moments, but it surely was nonetheless exceptional. The former al Qaeda member was beforehand wished for $10 million, a bounty the US removed in 2024. He additionally led the previously US-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham earlier than finally changing into the new president. (Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the group’s designation was eliminated in July.)
Trump dismisses query about Khashoggi killing
November marked the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the White House since the homicide of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
When a reporter requested Prince bin Salman and Trump about the CIA’s conclusion that the prince orchestrated the murder of Khashoggi, Trump stepped in to defend him, calling Khashoggi “extremely controversial.”
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen,” Trump stated. “But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
The second encapsulated simply how completely Prince bin Salman had been reintegrated into regular diplomacy after Khashoggi’s homicide. But even earlier than that, the crown prince had been welcomed with all the trappings of a state go to, the highest type of American diplomatic reception.
November 21: Trump and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani are positively chummy
Watch Trump and Mamdani’s full remarks in the Oval Office
Never thoughts that Trump had beforehand derided him as a communist. When Zohran Mamdani visited the White House after profitable the 2025 New York City mayoral election, Trump and he had been positively chummy.
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump stated of the younger mayor-elect that he had steadily tried to tar as a communist. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”
In arguably the most spectacular second, Mamdani was later pressed on whether or not he believed Trump was a “fascist” — threatening to upend the good vibes. But Trump shortly interjected, defusing what may need been a tricky query.
“That’s OK; he can just say yes. That’s easier, it’s easier than explaining it,” Trump quipped.
This month — exterior of the view of reside tv cameras — Venezuelan opposition chief María Corina Machado presented Trump along with her Nobel Peace Prize inside the Oval Office. In a photograph launched by the White House afterward, a smiling Trump holds the framed prize, as Machado stands subsequent to him.
Trump has lengthy sought the peace prize, and whereas it’s now in his possession, the Nobel Foundation stated in a press release that “the prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”