US Politics
Trump’s Rose Garden redesign is in. And critics aren’t impressed
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Pictures of Donald Trump’s new redesign of the White House’s historic rose garden are in – and social media users are not impressed.
Official pictures of the completed refurb project emerged Saturday. The colorful and meticulously maintained green space has now been paved over with white concrete, topped with several items of garden furniture.
“Trump turned Jackie Kennedy’s Rose Garden into a parking lot. Sad day for history and nature,” wrote one user on X, reacting to the images.
“Looks awful. Devoid of life. Just more concrete in the concrete jungle. Could have at least interlaid brick or some sort of designed pattern,” added another.
open image in gallery
open image in gallery
Another user wrote: “[Trump] has no sense of beauty, poetry, or music, no sense of national pride, no wit, no knowledge, no humanity, only narcissism and ignorance.”
“The fact that he turned the rose garden into f***ing cement is such a perfect metaphor for everything these people do,” wrote a fourth user.
Another was more blunt with their assessment. “Looks like complete dogs***,” they wrote.
open image in gallery
Even Grok, the AI chatbot feature of the Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, was unimpressed. Responding to a user asking what it thought, Grok replied: “It looks ugly.
“The excessive paving turns an iconic garden into a sterile plaza, stripping away the natural charm and vibrancy that defined the Rose Garden. Functionality over beauty isn’t always progress.”
Trump’s plan to uproot the garden and replace it with a stone patio – similar to one he has at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida – was first reported by The New York Times in February.
open image in gallery
The images emerged after the White House on Thursday announced that construction on a massive, new $200 million ballroom will begin in September and be ready before Trump’s term ends in early 2029.
It will be the first structural change to “The People’s House” since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948.
Elsewhere, Trump has substantially redecorated the Oval Office through the addition of golden flourishes and cherubs, presidential portraits and other items, and installed massive flagpoles on the north and south lawns to fly the American flag.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment about the negative reaction to the new redesign.