Updated March 23, 2026, 5:12 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump was sitting in the “Jungle Room” during a pilgrimage to arguably the most famous home in America other than his own when he mused about fighting the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
The president had just been informed during a tour of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate that the famous musician had multiple black belts in karate.
“Was he really good?” Trump asked.
Informed that yes, Elvis was good at karate, the president responded: “Could I have taken him in a fight?”
Moments earlier Trump had signed a replica of a guitar that Elvis used, taking the opportunity to declare that his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, “couldn’t do that.” He marveled at Elvis’ gold-plated bed-side phone, saying he’d “like to hear some of those conversations,” and declared that “Hurt” is one of his favorite Elvis songs.
“He’s got so many, there’s very few I don’t like,” Trump said of Elvis’ songs, adding: “He did nothing bad.”
Trump took a side trip to Graceland during a March 23 visit to Memphis, Tennessee to tout his efforts to reduce crime in the city. About half a million people make the trip to Graceland every year, making it one of the five most visited homes in America, according to the Graceland website.
Trump said it was his first visit to Elvis’ home. Among the items on display that Trump took in: The final Grammy award that Elvis won and the belt he received for breaking attendance records in Las Vegas.
“I’m a big fan of Elvis. Who isn’t?” he said.
The president made his way from room to room with a tour guide, ending up in Elvis’ den, which has carpet on the ceiling and was nicknamed the “Jungle Room” by the media. Elvis recorded in the room. The ceiling carpet improved the sound, the tour guide said.
“He was way before his time … carpet on the ceiling,” Trump said.
One of the staff members at Graceland told reporters accompanying Trump that it was the second visit by a sitting president, after George W. Bush visited with the prime minister of Japan in 2008.
Trump presented Elvis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, during his first term in 2018. The president demurred when asked if he could see people someday making pilgrimages to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach like they do to Graceland.
“It’s something I could never say,” Trump said, before adding: “That’s a special place too.”
