Donald Trump appeared to let more than intended slip during a recent Oval Office press briefing, after cameras captured paperwork that didn’t seem meant for public view.
The president was addressing reporters at the White House after signing an executive order intended to direct the federal government’s role in determining who receives mail ballots during elections.
While Trump has repeatedly argued against widespread voting by post, much of the immediate attention around the briefing shifted to a separate issue: a judge’s decision to halt work connected to his proposed $400 million White House ballroom project.
Online, viewers zoomed in on the notes seen in Trump’s hand, with many Reddit users speculating that the writing reflected a condensed rundown of remarks delivered Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon about the ballroom dispute.
“There was a judgement against it today, so it makes sense,” one person penned on social media.
In his order, the judge barred “any further demolition, site preparation work, landscape alteration, excavation, foundation work, or other construction or related work, other than actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds, including the ballroom construction site, and provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff.”
He added: “The president of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
Others commenting on the images also focused on how readable the notes appeared, with several suggesting that using a bold marker may have made the writing stand out more clearly on camera.
The Trump administration has already appealed the ruling, and reports indicate demolition has already taken place on the White House’s East Wing.
During the same briefing—where the notes were visible—Trump also spoke about the executive order he had just signed, describing it as part of an effort to influence how elections are administered across the United States.
“It’s about voter integrity, we want to have honest voting in our country because if you don’t have honest voting, you can’t have really a nation,” the Republican president told press.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office, said the administration’s approach would involve coordination with mail services in states that choose to use them.
He added: “The states run these elections – if they want to use the US mail, the US Postal Service, they’re going to get a code, a bar code, from the US Postal Service and they’re going to put that on the envelope and we will have one envelope per vote.”