President Donald Trump took a tour of Graceland, Tennessee, the historic estate of rock star Elvis Presley, all the while drawing parallels between himself and the rock icon.
“We love Elvis. Who doesn’t love Elvis. Everybody loves Elvis, right?” the president asked as he entered the main mansion.
Amid uncertainty about the war with Iran, Trump projected a nonchalant image during his visit to one of the country’s most popular private residences. He described himself as a longtime fan of Presley, noting that the visit was his first time at the estate.
Trump began his tour by suggesting that Presley might be a fan of what he’s done with Memphis, Tennessee, helping to bring the crime rate down with his deployment of the National Guard.
Though a longtime fan of Presley, the president was evidently surprised by certain details of Presley’s life. He gave an animated reaction when his tour guide told him the singer’s natural hair color was blonde, which he dyed black.
The former singer’s extravagance earned him plaudits from Trump, suggesting Presley was “ahead of his time” after noticing carpet on his ceiling. One of the exhibits that drew the most attention from Trump was Elvis’s gold-plated Social Security card, which the president said may be a style the U.S. might want to revive. He also liked Elvis’s gold-plated phone, saying that he would “like to hear some of those conversations.”
One of the most notable moments of the tour occurred when Trump was handed a replica guitar to sign, which he said was possibly the first he’d signed and that it was something former President Joe Biden couldn’t do. After the tour guide began describing the guitar, saying it had a karate patch decoration, she noted Presley had two black belts in karate, at which point Trump took his comparisons a step further.
“Could I have taken him in a fight?” the president asked.
“I think he would have been respectful enough to let you win,” another attendant replied, drawing laughter from Trump.
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The president mused over the singer’s fame, subtly comparing the fame of the two.
“He’s the most famous person on the planet. Let’s see — who else would be more famous than Elvis? Nobody that I can think of,” he said with a side glance, drawing more laughter.