Trump says '$5 Sharpie is very inexpensive but writes well' to show he can cut government waste
Trump: You see this pen right here? This pen is very inexpensive. But it writes well. I like it. Sharpie. I came here. They had $1,000 pens. You hand out pens. You hand them to people. 30, 40 people. They were $1,000 a piece. Beautiful pen, ball point. I hand out to kids that… pic.twitter.com/mrEXypiA0o
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 26, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump used a Cabinet meeting to showcase his business-minded approach to government projects, pausing a discussion on the Iran war to praise his favorite Sharpie pen.
Pointing to his customized Sharpie, Trump remarked, "This pen is very inexpensive. But it writes well. I like it," using the marker to show how he handles costs differently.
Trump criticizes $1,000 White House pens as wasteful
President Trump told his Cabinet that the traditional White House pens were "beautiful" but cost as much as $1,000 each.
He noted that these expensive pens were often handed out to dozens of people after signings, including children who did not realize their value.
Trump said he felt "guilty" about the high price tag. "They have $1,000 pens. And, you know, you hand pens out, you're signing, and you hand them out... sometimes you have 30, 40 people, and they were $1,000 a piece," the President explained.
"I'm handing out to kids that don't even know what they are. What is this, mommy? These kids. They're getting a pen for $1,000. They have no idea what it is. And I feel guilty," he added.
"I'm, by nature, I don't, you know, it's the government. I love the government. Like, I love myself economically. I want to save money. So I'm saying, This is crazy. And it had another problem. They didn't write well."
Trump switches to reliable $5 Sharpie markers
The President described how the old $1,000 pens would often fail. He recalled times when he would try to sign a document and find "no ink," which he felt looked bad.
"I take it out, and I saw it, and there's no ink. And I got all you people looking, and you say, There must be something wrong with Trump. And there's no ink in the pen," he said.
By switching to a marker, he found a tool that was both more reliable and much cheaper than the gold, silver models and autopens used in the past.
Trump uses $5 markers to highlight government spending lessons
To make the marker look right for the White House, Trump worked with the company to create a special version.
The new markers are black with the White House logo and his signature in gold.
He shared that the maker told him, "I'll paint it black. I said, That's nice. And I could even paint the White House on it, sir, if you like. In gold."
While the company offered them for free, Trump insisted on paying $5 each.
He used the pen as a direct example of how he could handle the Federal Reserve’s massive headquarters renovation for a fraction of its current multi-billion dollar cost.
Trump concluded that this fix is an example of "how $25 million spent by me at the Federal Reserve billion would be a better job than $4 billion that they're spending."
