President Donald Trump continues to tease a possible trip to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to ensure that the stockpile of gold that has long been reported to be stored at the military base is there.
“We’re gonna go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is there,” Trump said.
According to the U.S. Mint, the last time a gold vault was inspected by individuals other than authorized personnel was during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visit to the Bullion Depository in 1943 — 82 years ago.
Trump made similar comments in February, telling reporters, “You know that? We’re gonna go into Fort Knox. Do you know about that?”
“One of the things we do want to look — I mean, we hope everything’s fine with Fort Knox, but we’re gonna go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there,” he said.
“Where would the gold have gone?” a reporter asked.
“If the gold isn’t there, we’re gonna be very upset,” the president replied.
According to the United States Bullion Repository, as of Monday, 147.3 million ounces of gold, valued at about $435 billion, were in circulation. Gold opened at $2,950.01 an ounce on the markets.
The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has safeguarded the nation’s precious metal reserves since 1937, becoming synonymous with security and protection. In addition to storing gold reserves, Fort Knox also serves as the U.S. Army’s Human Resources Command Center and hosts the Army’s largest annual training event each summer, the Economic Times reported.
“We’re going to open up the doors. We’re going to inspect Fort Knox,” Trump said in a speech to Republican governors Thursday evening. “I don’t want to open it, and the cupboards are bare,” he added.
The Army post is located about 56 km (35 miles) south of Louisville and spans 109,000 acres across three Kentucky counties—Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade.
Originally established as Camp Knox during World War I, the site served as an artillery training center, according to the Army post’s website. It was designated a permanent installation in 1932 and has been known as Fort Knox ever since.
The first shipment of gold arrived at Fort Knox in 1937, with the 1st Cavalry Regiment assigned to guard the highly secure delivery.
With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the U.S. Army established the Armored Force at Fort Knox, where thousands of soldiers were trained and introduced to tank warfare. For nearly 80 years, the post was famously known as the “Home of Cavalry and Armor.”
The U.S. Mint reports that during regularly scheduled audits to test its purity, they have only removed small quantities of gold from Fort Knox. The depository has not seen any gold transfers in or out for many years, aside from these samples.
The Fort Knox depository is one of the most secure facilities in the world. Its exact structure and security protocols are known to only a select few, and no single individual has full knowledge of the procedures required to open the vault.
Publicly available information reveals that the facility was constructed in 1936 using 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel, and 670 tons of structural steel. Only three times in its history has the heavily guarded depository violated its strict no-visitors policy.
Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell joked about possible “missing” Fort Knox gold.
During a Senate budget hearing, McConnell asked Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, “I’m glad you were able to visit Fort Knox yesterday. Did you look at the gold?”
The room laughed about McConnell’s joke, which appeared to be a jab at President Trump and his prior remarks about the whereabouts of the gold.
