In November 2025, a rumor spread online that U.S. President Donald Trump had moved the historic Resolute Desk from the Oval Office to Mar-a-Lago. Nearly every American president has used the Resolute Desk since Queen Victoria gifted it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.
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(Facebook user Jessica Reid)
In truth, however, the image showed what appeared to be a replica of the Resolute Desk. Moving the Resolute Desk — a massive, 1,300-pound desk made from the timbers of a British Royal Navy ship — would be almost impossible to do without the White House press pool or members of the public noticing. There had been no reputable news reports that Trump transported the Resolute Desk out of the Oval Office since the White House moved it in February for "light refurbishing" before returning it to its original place sometime in March, based on photographs in Getty Images, a reputable database.
After the publication of this story, Rémi Le Forestier, a French cabinetmaker, emailed Snopes to claim credit for the Resolute Desk replica depicted in the photo circulating online. Le Forestier said he sent a Resolute Desk replica he designed and created directly to Mar-a-Lago in early 2025 and produced numerous photos and video evidence for proof, as well as a thank you letter that appeared to have Trump's legitimate signature on it.
One of many images French cabinetmaker Rémi Le Forestier sent to Snopes of his Resolute Desk replica. (Rémi Le Forestier)
Le Forestier said he was "100% sure" the desk apparently displayed in the Mar-a-Lago lobby was his desk. He pointed to the desk pad, photos he has of the desk in the exact same place as the desk in the picture online and other details he recognized.
"If it's not mine, it means I've lost the plot," Le Forestier said in a WhatsApp message in French, translated with the help of a Snopes reporter fluent in the language.
As such, we have rated this image as miscaptioned.
The Trump Organization and the White House did not immediately return inquiries as to the Resolute Desk's current whereabouts and whether the image online legitimately showed a copy of the Resolute Desk at Mar-a-Lago. We await responses.
In 2021, Snopes debunked claims that Trump built a replica of the Oval Office in Mar-a-Lago but determined "Trump did not bring the Resolute Desk with him to Oval Office, but he did purchase what appears to be a 'Telluride Wood Executive Desk,' according to Politico, that somewhat resembles the historic Oval Office desk."
Image spreads without context
The earliest post of the picture circulating online appeared to be from X user @PatriotTakes, an account that bills itself as "dedicated research monitoring and exposing right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy." The account's Nov. 7 post captioned the image as a copy, not the legitimate desk — but the photo quickly spread without that context.
In an X direct message, the @PatriotTakes account said it could not remember where, exactly, the image originated from, but that it likely was a screenshot from a video someone posted, possibly during Trump's "Great Gatsby" Halloween party. The poster also reiterated the belief the desk at Mar-a-Lago was a copy and suggested it may be the same desk the account posted a picture of in March apparently on display in Mar-a-Lago.
The image above showed Le Forestier's desk, the cabinetmaker said. Le Forestier customized the hand carved desk to include a reversible panel with Trump's crest on it, which he said explained why the crest was not visible in the other image. In lieu of a British ship's timber, Le Forestier used oak from Belleau Wood in reference to the Battle of Belleau Wood to symbolize friendship between the United States and France.
Le Forestier said he found it "rather flattering" that people mistook his desk for the actual Resolute Desk. This isn't even the first time he's run into this problem: He told Snopes he once made a replica of the throne of Jean-Bédel Bokassa — and a Russian-funded military company, the Wagner Group, spread the rumor in Africa that his was the original stolen by France.
"Many Central Africans remain convinced that I had the original throne," he said in a WhatsApp message.
Resolute Desk compared to image online
Photojournalists captured pictures of Trump behind the real Resolute Desk on Nov. 6 and Nov. 10 in the Oval Office — see this picture of the Resolute Desk from the White House Historical Association for a comparison. Notably, the Nov. 10 pictures were taken after the Nov. 7 PatriotTakes post.
Center: U.S. President Donald Trump sits behind the Resolute Desk, Nov. 6, 2025. Top left: A picture of the Resolute Desk from the White House Historical Association. (White House Historical Association/Getty Images/Snopes Illustration)
While it's difficult to make definitive statements about the supposed Mar-a-Lago desk due to how blurry the image is, the replica desk does not appear to have the same level of detailed carving and the dimensions look off.
@PatriotTakes also pointed out in a direct message that the replica apparently at Mar-a-Lago does not appear to have the additional base first added to the bottom of the real desk in 1961 to raise its height, as requested by former President John F. Kennedy to accommodate his frame, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Center: Trump sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Nov. 6, 2025. Top left: Image circulating online of the supposed Mar-a-Lago desk. (Getty Images/X user PatriotTakes )
Top: Resolute Desk from the White House Historical Association. Center: Resolute Desk from the Nov. 6 image of Trump sitting behind it. Bottom: The image circulating online. (Getty Images/White House Historical Association/X user PatriotTakes)
Multiple replicas of the Resolute Desk have been made. It's also relatively easy to purchase a replica of the Resolute Desk (as long as you have the money). As of this writing, the National Archives Store sold one for $8,995 and the White House Gift Shop sold "an exacting replica as possible" version for $110,000.
To summarize, the picture online likely represents a replica of the Resolute Desk at Mar-a-Lago created by a French cabinetmaker who gifted it to Trump. Overwhelming evidence indicated that the Resolute Desk remained in the Oval Office, at least as of Nov. 10, and that Trump did not move it to Mar-a-Lago.