The real meaning behind the gold-plated key that President Donald Trump gifted to Elon Musk when he left the White House has been revealed.
Musk spent 130 days working as an unelected official for the Trump administration where he took on the role of the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While not technically a government department, the body is purported to act as an outside advisor to the president on federal spending.
Musk took on the role after forming a close friendship with Trump during his election campaign.
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However, earlier this month, he announced that he was stepping back, taking to his own social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to write: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk appeared at a recent press conference at the Oval Office as he bid farewell to his time in government, where he was given a gold-plated skeleton key by the president.
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At the briefing, Trump said: ““Elon gave an incredible service. There’s nobody like him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he's an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90% of the country knows that, and they appreciate it, and they really appreciate what he did.”
The world’s richest man was presented with a ‘key to the White House’ in a wooden box with an engraving of the mansion on the inside of the lid.
Trump remarked that the key is a ‘little special something’ he gifts to ‘very special people’ as a ‘presentation from our country’.
People were also shocked to see Musk turn up to his final press briefing sporting a black eye which he was questioned on.
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Many people took to social media to ponder what had happened, with one user writing: “Why is Elon Musk’s right eye, black and blue??????”
And another added: “Does anyone know why Elon has a black eye?”
Musk replied during the press conference to say that he got the shiner while ‘horsing around’ with his five year old son, who he referred to as ‘lil X’.
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Musk said: “I said, ‘go ahead and punch me in the face’, and he did.”
Trump added: “X could do it. I didn’t notice it, actually.”