Trump Tries to Pull a Nicolas Cage, Steal the Declaration of Independence

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Walt Disney Pictures, Getty Images

These days, there are a lot of extremely alarming headlines featuring Donald Trump. At first glance, “Trump’s Own Declaration of Independence” doesn’t seem like one of them. The Atlantic headline published on Thursday night sounds like a metaphor that could refer to anything from Trump’s attempt to distance himself from alleged co-president Elon Musk to Canada-related tensions with King Charles III.

As it turns out, it’s a story about Trump trying to seize the literal Declaration of Independence because it would look cool in his office.

Trump “asked advisers in recent days about moving the Declaration of Independence into the Oval Office, according to people familiar with the conversations who requested anonymity to describe the planning,” Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer report.

It seems even sycophantic Trump staffers were dismayed by his desire to remove the original copy of America’s founding document from public view — just so it could be displayed alongside his Diet Coke button and framed mug shot in the Oval Office:

Trump’s request alarmed some of his aides, who immediately recognized both the implausibility and the expense of moving the original document. Displayed in the rotunda at the National Archives Building, in Washington, D.C., it is perhaps the most treasured historical document in the U.S. government’s possession. The original is behind heavy glass in an oxygen-free, argon-filled case that can retract into the wall at night for security. Because of light damage to the faded animal-skin parchment, the room is kept dimly lit; restrictions have been placed on how often the doors can even be opened.

Supposedly, Trump has decided to leave the original Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, though he may still commandeer one of several historical copies in the government’s possession:

… To the relief of aides, subsequent discussions appear to have focused on the possibility of moving one of the historical copies of the document, not the original. “President Trump strongly believes that significant and historic documents that celebrate American history should be shared and put on display,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told us in an email.

Though The Atlantic says, “It is unclear where Trump first got the idea to add a Declaration to the Oval Office’s décor,” I think we all know the likely genesis of this scheme:

As Trump, who’s a bit of a cinephile, likely recalls, in the 2004 film National Treasure Nicolas Cage steals the Declaration of Independence because he thinks there’s a map on the back written in invisible ink. So if Trump returns his copy of the Declaration with lemon juice all over it, we’ll have our confirmation. In the meantime, let’s just hope he doesn’t destroy too much of the White House while hunting for the presidents’ Book of Secrets.