Trump interrupts a Cabinet meeting dealing with the Iran war and rising
prices to talk Sharpies
[March 27, 2026]
By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may believe the adage that the
pen is mightier than the sword — as long as it's a Sharpie.
During a Cabinet meeting Thursday that discussed the war in Iran,
record-long security lines at many of the nation's top airports, rising
oil prices and skittish stock markets, the president interjected by
holding up a custom-made black and gold Sharpie and offering a long
story about how his preferred marker came to be a White House fixture.
“See this pen right here?” Trump said at the start of a roughly
five-minute, on-and-off diatribe on the Sharpie. “This pen is an
interesting example.”
It was one of several lengthy asides the president made during the
meeting that sometimes felt especially jarring given how many more
important things his top advisers could have been discussing.
The Sharpie monologue came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, envoy
Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco
Rubio offered sobering comments about missile strikes, Tehran's uranium
enrichment efforts and the U.S. troops that remain in harm's way.
The president offered the winding tale as an example of how his business
sense can lead to better, cheaper outcomes in federal spending. He was
also seeking to drive home his broader, long-standing criticism that
renovations to the Federal Reserve building in Washington are too
expensive.
“We’ve gotta get our priorities straight,” Trump said.
The anecdote began with Trump insisting that the White House was once
stocked with “beautiful” ballpoint pens that cost $1,000 each.
That presented a problem, Trump said, when, during ceremonial bill
signings, he would hand out pens as keepsakes to lawmakers, supporters
and various others who helped make new legislation possible. Recipients
even included children, whom he lamented did not know the value of what
they'd been gifted.
“Sometimes you have 30, 40 people,” Trump said.
Despite being known for a love of all things ostentatious — including
the sprawling, $400 million White House ballroom he demolished the East
Wing to build — Trump said giving away so many expensive pens meant “I
feel guilty by nature.”
“I love the government like I love myself, economically,” Trump said. “I
want to save money.”
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President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White
House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex
Brandon)
The president said he worked with a marker maker and worried about
giving the company involved too much publicity — only to divulge
that it was Sharpie, a longtime favorite of his, drawing laughs from
his Cabinet.
For decades as a celebrity businessman, Trump used the pens to sign
autographs or mark up newspaper clippings and send them with
personalized notes written in the telltale thick black ink. And, as
president, Trump has continued to wield Sharpies to sign executive
orders, proclamations and bills.
Trump said he contacted the company and was told that they could
make a black pen with the White House logo in gold and that they
wouldn't charge for it. Trump said he insisted on paying $5 per
marker. Online searches reveal that typical Sharpies sell for
usually $1 to $2 apiece.
“The head of Sharpie gets a call. I don’t even know who the hell he
is. He said, ‘Is this really the president?’” Trump said.
It was the most attention the marker has gotten at the White House
since the “ Sharpiegate ” scandal involving Hurricane Dorian during
Trump’s first term. Still, Sharpie’s manufacturer, Atlanta-based
Newell Brands, said in a statement that it didn’t have any
information about the conversation Trump described, but that
Sharpies are used by current and past U.S. presidents, elected
officials, celebrities, athletes, and artists, among others.
Trump summed it up as “a business story.”
“For $5, I get a much better pen than for $1,000, and I can hand
them out,” he said. “And, honestly, they’ve become hot as a pistol,
so what can I tell you?”
After concluding his Sharpie recollections, Trump took a moment to
revel in his own storytelling ability before offering the floor to
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“Good luck, Scott,” he said as the rest of the Cabinet laughed
again.
“Well, sir,” Bessent offered, “as usual, you’re a tough act to
follow.”
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