President Donald Trump took a tour of Elvis Presley’s Graceland on Monday while in Memphis, TN, for a roundtable discussion about efforts to address crime in the city.
It marked only the second visit to the attraction by a sitting president, after George W. Bush’s 2008 appearance with the Japanese prime minister.
“I’m a big fan of Elvis. Who isn’t?” Trump said. The president revealed one of his favorite Elvis songs is “Hurt.”
“He’s got so many, there’s very few I don’t like. He did nothing bad.”
Graceland temporarily closed down so Trump—who said it was his first visit to Elvis’ home—could take a private tour.
On the tour, Trump examined an Army helmet that Presley had carved his “EP” initials into; Presley’s gold-plated Social Security card; the final Grammy award Elvis won; and a gold-plated bedside phone.
“I would like to hear some of those conversations,” he said.
The president also toured Elvis’ den, called “the Jungle Room,” where he was informed that Elvis had a black belt in karate.
He asked, “Was he really good? Could I have taken him in a fight?”
Trump marveled at the carpet on the ceiling, which improved the sound as Elvis recorded there.
“He was way before his time—carpet on the ceiling,” Trump said.
During Trump’s first term in 2018, he had posthumously presented Elvis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Elvis music was often played at Trump’s campaign rallies, too.
Before leaving Graceland, Trump signed a replica guitar like one Presley played during his 1973 “Aloha From Hawaii” concert.
History of Graceland
With the release of “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956, Presley climbed to the top of the charts and sold 10 million singles in the next year. The following year, the superstar splurged on the Memphis mansion that would become Graceland.
Set on 13.8 acres, the property became his home for the rest of his life.
Graceland opened to the public in 1982 as a museum. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark.
Today, it’s one of the most visited private homes in the U.S. The street name is now Elvis Presley Boulevard.
Fans can tour the building where Presley slept and view the Jungle Room with its green shag carpet and Tiki decor, the trophy room, and an array of memorabilia and costumes from the performer’s stage and personal life.
Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter, Riley Keough, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother in January 2023.
Graceland scam
In 2025, Lisa Jeanine Findley, a Missouri woman, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for trying to sell off Graceland using a fake company and forged documents.
Findley’s intricate scam involved posing as individuals connected to a fake lender, fabricating loan documents, and publishing a fraudulent foreclosure notice for the iconic estate.
The judge described Findley’s actions as a “wild scheme” and “highly sophisticated,” according to WREG.