President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have transformed one of Washington’s most iconic green spaces. New photos reveal that the White House Rose Garden, once a symbol of Kennedy-era elegance, is now more concrete than colorful.
What used to be a lush lawn bordered by flowering bushes has been transformed into hard tiles. New photos show a large gray area in place of grass.
The renovation, which the White House calls a “restoration,” is expected to be finished by mid-August. The work is being carried out by the National Park Service and funded by the Trust for the National Mall.
According to officials, the project is about improving “practical use” and “guest experience.” But many are having mixed reactions. This isn’t the first time the Rose Garden has been in the middle of a Trump aesthetic makeover.
© SAUL LOEBBack in 2020, the First Lady revealed a controversial redesign that removed crabapple trees, installed a limestone walkway, and added over 200 new rose bushes. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss described it at the time as the “evisceration” of a national landmark.
Melania’s team responded, accusing Beschloss of “ignorance” and calling his criticism “dishonorable.” They posted a blooming photo of the space in defense. “The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses,” her office wrote on X.
© Chip SomodevillaNow, five years later, the lawn is gone completely, and this time, the changes are even harder to reverse. Trump himself has openly talked about the alterations. “It’s going to be beautiful,” he told The Spectator in February.
“I think it’s actually going to look better. But some people would like to leave it. But the problem is you can’t. We had the press here yesterday. Do you see the women there? They’re going crazy. The grass was wet. Their heels are going right through the grass, like four inches deep,” he said.
© Chip SomodevillaIn a March interview with Laura Ingraham, he said, “You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he said. “The terrain can be wet, and the soft ground can be an issue for some… Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”
© JIM WATSONDespite his insistence that the new design improves functionality, criticism continues. The Rose Garden, as the public once knew it, was the work of Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, commissioned by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to create a formal yet serene space outside the West Wing.
“The President had noted that the White House had no garden equal in quality or attractiveness to the gardens that he had seen and in which he had been entertained in Europe,” Mellon later wrote. “He wanted to start, in the greatest haste, to remake the area near his office… into an area both useful and attractive.”
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