Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic rose garden at the White House might be getting a serious makeover during Donald Trump‘s second administration. Yes, the rose garden did receive a controversial renovation by Melania Trump in 2020, but it looks like it’s going to happen again.
The president apparently has an issue with the grass in the middle of the White House Rose Garden. He wants to add a patio just like he has at his “Winter White House” at Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump was asked by Fox News on March 19 if the pavement rumor was true and he confirmed it during the broadcast.
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“What was happening is that that’s supposed to have events. Every event you have is soaking wet. It’s soaking wet,” he explained. “The women with the high heels. It’s just too much. The grass, it just doesn’t work. We use it for press conferences, and it just doesn’t work because people fall into the wet.” To be clear, the roses will remain, but the grass in the center of the courtyard will be paved over.
The rumor first began in February when The New York Times leaked Donald Trump’s White House reconstruction plans. There have been ongoing discussions as to whether to make it “limestone or an easily interchangeable hard surface, with the possibility of installing hardwood floors for dancing,” per the outlet’s sources. While the president might be thinking of this renovation from a practical standpoint, White House traditionalists aren’t exactly pleased with this idea.
“This is beyond disrespectful 😡 but I suppose we shouldn’t expect anything less,” said one X user. Another added, “Sounds like a waste of money. Where is @DOGE to stop this fraud and abuse?!” One social media user wrote, “I can’t help but hear Joni Mitchell singing Paved Paradise.”
The New York Times indicated that Donald Trump is looking for a space to entertain guests, similar to his “member-only club and home in Palm Beach, Fla.” The first lady has not chimed in about her husband’s plans, but she received significant criticism for her treatment of the rose garden five years ago.
NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss shared his thoughts on her renovation, posting on X in 2021, “Evisceration of White House Rose Garden was completed a year ago this month, and here was the grim result—decades of American history made to disappear.” Melania’s office fired back after his critical words hit the internet.
“@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy,” the Office of Melania Trump wrote on her X account. “The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian.”
Melania had 10 crab apple trees removed and planted elsewhere on the White House grounds. People were hoping Dr. Jill Biden would restore Jackie’s vision, but she did not touch it in the four years she was there. Jill often shared images of the rose bushes in bloom without making any note of Melania’s changes.
Still, Donald Trump’s patio is going to be hard to ignore and it will be the end of an era for Jackie’s rose garden as fans knew and loved it.
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