Temperature in Oval Office reaches all-time high during Biden-Trump meeting, climate scientists say
President Joe Biden’s meeting with President-Elect Donald Trump Wednesday made history for clocking the warmest temperature ever recorded in the Oval Office, climate scientists have confirmed.
Among those scientists is Leona Howell, chief indoor climate researcher at the U.R. Sweaty Weather and Atmospheric Institute in Washington, D.C. “At one point, we measured the temperature in the room at a stifling 35 degrees centigrade,” Howell told a room full of expressionless, openmouthed reporters.
“That’s almost 95 degrees Fahrenheit,” she clarified. At this, the now-understanding reporters came alive in a buzz of shock and horror.
In fact, it was the hottest that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been since British troops set fire to the White House during the War of 1812. And Wednesday’s exchange was substantially warmer than the frosty post-election meeting between Barack Obama and Trump in 2016 or the nonexistent meeting between Trump and Biden in 2020.
The directive to crank up the heat came from the top, according to those familiar with the situation.
“President Biden said he wanted to have a fire going during the meeting,” said Grant Brantley, Director of Oval Office Fireplace Operations (DOOFO). “I thought it was a good idea – would make for a great photo op. So I started it up.”
The natural-gas-powered fireplace in the Oval Office has three settings: low, medium and high. Pretty standard. Considering the already moderate temperature inside the building, Brantley started the fire out on the lowest setting.
He clicked it up to medium when he saw Biden rubbing his hands up and down the arms of his suit jacket, the universal symbol for communicating chilliness. But this, too, was not good enough, as Biden directed Brantley to crank it up yet again, this time to the highest setting.
It so happened that Brantley upped the fire’s intensity just as Trump walked in, as if giving the appearance that an evil spirit – perhaps the devil himself – had just entered. This was totally coincidental, Brantley emphasized.
Gaseous flames were not the only thing elevating the mercury, however. Howell, the climate researcher, explained that some of the warmth was generated between the two leaders themselves. “Surprisingly, they appeared to hit it off quite well,” she said.
The simplest explanation for this seems to be that Trump is friendliest and most welcoming following a contentious victory. And Biden, still raw from being replaced by his party on the ballot only to see his replacement go on to lose, was in pretty good spirits, too.
White House temperature trends do not look good, say climate experts, who seem generally committed to wanting things to cool off a bit.
“Temperatures in the Oval Office typically rise under geriatric presidents,” said Dean Delaney, President of the Boston-based Center for Thermometer Studies. “Because they don’t produce as much body heat as they used to, they instead rely on external controls like revving up the fireplace.”
The problem was effectively mitigated under Presidents Bill Clinton (who was only 46 years old when first elected), George W. Bush (54) and Barack Obama (47). But with the recent elections of Donald Trump (70 years old in 2016), Joe Biden (78 in 2020) and Trump again (78 in 2024), temperatures are on the rise with no cooler forecasts in sight. The office hasn’t experienced an ice age since Jimmy Carter, who never used the fireplace, instead urging the country to conserve energy by wearing a sweater.
“If we don’t get our interior climates under control, the number of sweat stains and level of body odor among our nation’s leaders may soon become irreversible. We need to act fast,” Delaney said.