By reorganizing one of America’s most iconic outdoor spaces, Donald and Melania Trump started a new chapter for the White House Rose Garden, this time with striped umbrellas and a lot more concrete. The dramatic facelift has replaced grass with stone tiles and added decor familiar to The Trumps.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt guided reporters through the transformed garden, where President Trump’s personal playlist was pumping through newly installed speakers, including hits like ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ and Elvis’s ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ as members of the press toured the scene.
The space was visibly changed from the Kennedy-era layout once beloved for its floral symmetry. When asked if the new setting, complete with yellow-and-white-striped umbrellas, was to Melania Trump’s liking, Leavitt replied, “She is. I believe so, yeah.”
© Chip SomodevillaThe first lady, who led a controversial garden redesign back in 2020, had also been involved in this latest effort, which began earlier this summer.
While some have said the umbrellas resemble restaurant patios, Leavitt was frank when asked about the choice. “Yeah, I mean, they are literally the umbrellas from Mar-a-Lago,” she said, before clarifying that they weren’t physically brought up from Palm Beach, but were purchased from the same supplier.
© PoolDespite criticism, Trump seems pleased. “We are testing the speakers for what will be the greatest event in the history of the White House! -President Trump,” Leavitt wrote in a social media post that featured a video of the updated patio space set to “God Bless the USA.”
© JIM WATSONOnce a green area framed by rose bushes and crabapple trees, the garden now reflects a grayer design. According to Trump, it’s a matter of practicality. “You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he told Laura Ingraham. “Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”
© Anna MoneymakerIn a separate interview with The Spectator, Trump further explained the decision to pave over the lawn. “The grass was wet. Their heels are going right through the grass, like four inches deep.” He added, “It’s going to be beautiful… I think it’s actually going to look better.”
Construction of the new patio, overseen by the National Park Service and funded by the Trust for the National Mall, began in early summer and wrapped up in mid-August. The redesign removed the central lawn added during John F. Kennedy’s administration and replaced it with concrete pavers, while keeping the outer rose beds intact.
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