Kid Rock in the Oval Office as Trump Signs Ticket-Scalping Order: 'Trump Got It Done in 2 Weeks' (March 31, 2025)

Kid Rock came to the Oval Office to see President Donald Trump sign an order against ticket scalpers, and he gave Trump the credit. “First off, thank you, Mr. President, because this has happened at lightning speed,” the musician, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, said on March 31, 2025, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years, no matter what your politics are, knows that it’s a conundrum. You buy a ticket for 100 bucks. By the time you check out, it’s $170. You don’t know what you’re getting charged for,” he said [1].

The video above shows the signing in the Oval Office on March 31, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register [1][2].

”Trump Got It Done in 2 Weeks”

Trump introduced his friend. “A friend of mine, Kid Rock, sometimes referred to as ‘Bob’—I know him as ‘Bob’—but he’s been a good friend for a long time, many years,” he said [1].

“I think you’ve been trying to get this done for 20 years or something. He said, ‘Trump got it done in 2 weeks,’” Trump said [1].

White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf explained the order. “These people use bots and computer algorithms to buy up huge blocks of tickets and then jack up the price,” Scharf said [1].

”I’m a Little Overpaid Right Now”

Kid Rock said the bots grab the best seats. “These bots, you know, they come in and they get all the good tickets to your favorite shows you want to go to, and then they’re relisted immediately for sometimes a 4-, 500-percent markup. And the artists don’t see any of that money,” he said [1].

“I’ll be the first one to say—and I know the President doesn’t like when I say this—but I’m a little overpaid right now,” he said, as the room laughed. “I would rather be, you know, a hero to working-class people and have them be able to come attend my shows and give them a fair ticket price.” [1]

“They’ve only enforced that BOTS Act one time, I believe,” he said [1].

”It Sells for $2,000 the Following Night”

“You see the artists and they go out with $100 ticket, and it sells for $2,000 the following night,” Trump said. “And they seem to be able to sweep up the best locations too, which is pretty amazing.” [1]

Asked which company was to blame, Trump joked, “I think I know, Peter,” to Fox News’ Peter Doocy, as the room laughed. “But that’s all right. Don’t get them involved.” [1]

“We’re Going to Be at $5 Trillion”

Trump said the investment was pouring in. “Apple is investing $500 billion. You know, they always built their places in China. Now he’s building here,” he said [1].

“I think that we’re going to be at $5 trillion of investment. I think you’re going to have investments very shortly. We’re already three and a half, and we have commitments—verbal commitments—for a lot more,” Trump said [1].

“If you look at, let’s say, $4- to $5 trillion in a period of a month and a half—that’s even more than you do with your concerts, which are always sold out, right?” he asked Kid Rock, as the room laughed. “Little bit,” Kid Rock said [1].

”That Sounds Very Much Like This Country”

A reporter asked about France’s Marine Le Pen, who had just been banned from running for office for five years. “That’s a big deal. That’s a very big deal. I know all about it, and a lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted of anything,” Trump said [1].

“But she was banned for running for 5 years, and she was the leading candidate. That sounds like this country. That sounds very much like this country,” he said [1].

”We’ll Never Stop Looking for Him”

Asked about Austin Tice, the American journalist missing in Syria, Trump said: “The mother is fantastic. She’s a very committed mother that—her whole life is to find her son, who was in Syria and just disappeared off the face of the Earth.” [1]

“Until we find out something definitive, one way or the other, we’ll never stop looking for him,” Trump said [1].

By the Numbers

$100 to $170: what a ticket can cost by checkout, per Kid Rock [1].
400 to 500 percent: markups on resold tickets, per Kid Rock [1].
$2,000: what a $100 ticket can sell for the next night, per Trump [1].
70 times: face value some fans have paid, per the order [2].

What Happened Next

The order took effect. Executive Order 14254 says: “America’s live concert and entertainment industry is the envy of the world. But it has become blighted by unscrupulous middlemen who sit at the intersection between artists and fans and impose egregious fees while providing minimal value.” [2]

“Ticket scalpers use bots and other unfair means to acquire large quantities of face-value tickets and then re-sell them at an enormous markup on the secondary market, price-gouging consumers and depriving fans of the opportunity to see their favorite artists without incurring extraordinary expenses,” it says [2].

For Trump on women’s sports three days earlier, see HYGO News’ page on March 28, 2025. For Trump’s F-47 announcement, see the page on March 21, 2025.