A year ago – which feels like a lifetime ago – Melania Trump unveiled her remake of the White House Rose Garden. There were technical reasons why part of the Rose Garden had to be dug up, like replacing cables and adding a better drainage system. But Melania decided to remake the famous Rose Garden into the “Trump image,” making it sterile and almost entirely white. No more riot of color, no more rose bushes from First Ladies. Melania ripped out Jackie Kennedy’s crab-apple trees and trashed Jackie Kennedy’s careful garden planning for a completely boring look.
So, historian Michael Beschloss decided to point out that this month marks the one-year anniversary of Melania’s triumphant and unwanted unveiling. Beschloss often points out significant anniversaries in American history, so it’s not like he’s solely “picking on” Melania. Plus, this was actually huge news a year ago.
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: @dougmillsnyt pic.twitter.com/78OqjkoOPt
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 7, 2021
So instead of just sitting in her Mar-a-Lago bunker and getting spa treatments and ignoring her husband, Melania decided to come for Michael Beschloss. Again, he’s a historian!! He uses social media to point out historical events and important anniversaries! But this is what “the office of Melania Trump” had to say:
.@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy. 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. https://t.co/LU243SANF1 pic.twitter.com/PuVOSjxx5w
— Office of Melania Trump (@OfficeofMelania) August 8, 2021
I’m not sure what Melania was trying to prove but those flowers are mostly white, with some pinks and purples mixed in. Jackie Kennedy’s garden was so colorful, with all different color tulips, dozens of healthy rose bushes from first ladies, hyacinths, daffodils, lavender and more. The removal of the crab-apple trees still hurts. Anyway, Mel is as thin-skinned as they come and if she’s hanging her entire FLOTUS reputation on this White Power garden, well… that’s just sad.
Remember when the Rose Garden had roses?
Just another thing Trump ruined. pic.twitter.com/Y4Tbn4BqS1
— Chris Hahn (@ChristopherHahn) August 7, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Yeah, go after Micheal. See how that works out Eva Braun reject. On top of being one of the best political historians working today, the man’s tongue is sharp.
The idea that Melania could discredit Beschloss is hysterical. What an inflated sense of self.
Not being American, I’m not familiar with Mr Beschloss. I wish I wasn’t familiar with this _poor example of a woman. Now, put the two together, and I’d love Mr Beschloss put his considerable expertise into discovering Melania’s true history, rather than the bleached, sanitised and more socially acceptable history created circa-2016. Let’s really put the wind up her bum.
He wrote some great books about The Kennedy’s. I recommend starting there if you are interested in reading his work.
Hey, Tiffany. Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve always been interested in the Kennedys so I’ll definitely have a look.
Beschloss is a Historian and I love his books. Doesn’t play favorites just puts it out there and lets the reader decide. Highly recommend
I’m sure he knows all about Melania’s true background.
I wonder if she saw/her staff showed her the Twitter post he added just below the one to which she replied – a picture from the movie Mommie Dearest, with the caption “Angry Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) eviscerates garden.” Stills and clips from movies figure frequently to emphasize the more absurd aspects of some of the items he posts (see the ones about Mike Pompeo, a disappearing $6,000 bottle of whiskey gifted to the US from Japan, and the Three Stooges).
Overall, his Twitter feed is really excellent, a mix of current events commentary, plus “this day in history” material, with amazing pictures and links. The last few day’s posts have been about Nixon’s resignation, on this date in 1974.
Um…he didn’t say there was no color or no roses, so I don’t know what Melanie is trying to prove with that reply. He said decades of history disappeared…that’s what he meant by grim. And that’s just fact.
totally agree. Knowing that the best time to create a garden is at least 20 years ago,the fact that she probably destroyed hundreds of flowers coming from first ladies is just heart breaking. From her clap back, clearly, I dont think Melania understood the historical importance of those plants. In her mind, she was just trying to create what is to her, a beautiful beautiful garden. And it is sure more beautiful than last year visual.
Melania should have placed the plants elsewhere, or given them to state gardens that could have given those historical plants a life outside de WH, What a shame. and those apple trees, that hurts too. wow. tears tears tears for our dead botanical friends that had first ladies as mommies.
Here’s hoping that some of the landscapers took home these beautiful historical roses! Apparently the whitewashing of the Trump era continues on. What next? Astro-turf the lawn? A big white T on the front door? That’s right, they only rented out the place until 2024!
Oh, she ripped out those plants for a reason. The trees had plaques with the names of the former First Ladies on them. Including her husband’s bête noire – Hillary Clinton. And a woman they equally despised – Michelle Obama. I really do think her reason for doing it was that petty.
Melanie is ugly inside and out. No class, whatsoever. Not surprising though, given who she’s married to.
And so is everything she has designed. Her ugly Christmas decor are epic.
Strangely a lot of her Christmas decor is great inspo for Halloween
It really stings when plants and trees that are healthy and thriving in their element are cut down. I had a neighbor that cut down multiple tress including a beautiful mature pussy willow tree when they first moved in. Such needless destruction for the sake of selfish astetics is shameful.
Let’s not forget she had those trees removed for a single camera shot of her husband walking out to hold an illegal campaign event at the White House.
THIS!!!!!!!!!
I remember the uproar when Mr. T bought an estate in a suburb near me: He cut down over 100 (!) mature trees. He claimed allergies, but I think the clear-cutting may have been more for security, ie, better sight lines across the property. Unfortunately, a lot of the outrage was flat-out racism — it’s a wealthy, Hamptons wanna-be town and he definitely wasn’t “their type of people,” what with his skin color and more flashy demeanor. He lived there for only a few years; I doubt he ever felt welcome. Drive by his old place and it sticks out like a sore thumb, as all the neighboring properties are heavily wooded.
Iconoclast- Lol I grew up in that town, still live nearby. Mr T’s tree destruction is STILL talked about. And while it was a bad decision on Mr T’s part, 90% of the criticism was based on racism.
When he bought the golf course next to DC, he cut down mature trees along the Potomac without permits. It was reported and they were forced to stop and fined because those trees prevent erosion. When you go down the bike trail you can still see the bare areas. Locals hate when he buys property, not because of prejudice, but because he will do whatever he wants without regard to any local regulation or care for his neighbors or the local community.
I just figured out you’re talking about Mr. T from the A team, lol. I thought you were referring to Trump and that’s who my comment above is about. Now the racism part of what you wrote makes a lot more sense. Sorry for my cluelessness.
For some reason I too read Mr. T and thought Trump and I was sooo confused about why the criticism would be racial.
I also had a neighbor tear out a variety of completely healthy and lovely flowering bushes and shrubs that hid their sep, then spent a small fortune planting half grown evergreens and other plants. The new stuff looks fine, albeit boring, but we wish they had put something out on Nextdoor or our neighborhood group text for people to take the materials they pulled out as the landscaping crew threw it all out.
I thought that the trees were not getting enough sun and not healthy which is why they were cut down.
Did Donny write that reply himself…
I was gonna say, hmmmm… she writes just like her husband!
Melania should read her own jacket when it comes to what many think of her and her personal rebuttals: we don’t care.
I didn’t know that Melania had a new Twitter account. I thought she just reverted to her personal account after she left the White House. It’s clear that her office has very little work to do if all they can do is go after a historian for stating facts. What’s going on with her Be Best programme?
LOL at her account having an attempt at a seal, as if it’s official or something.
I wish they could have lied to her and told her the project was delayed, or something, for those few years she was there, to keep her from messing with it. Disgusting that she leave any mark on that property.
There’s talk that the “seals” used by Mrs. Plaigarism Trump and Mr. Stable Genius Trump may be illegal. All I want for Christmas is for the whole band of grifters to go to jail without collecting $200.
Ugh, this was so heartbreaking when it happened. It still stings.
I read somewhere that arborists and gardeners grabbed whatever they could and replanted elsewhere in case they could be restored to the garden in the future. Really hope this is true.
Wow. #BeBest in action. Calling people names. Ugh.
It’s not bullying if she does it. It’s only bullying if people say things to her she doesn’t like.
She is so like her husband…
He should never be trusted as a professional historian? That’s the most emotion we’ve seen from her in years.
The Trumps are a special type of human monster, every last one of them
It’s true that Melania’s aesthetic is “grim”…. we remember her Christmas decorations too!!
Ummmm, his pic and the one she posted are pretty much the same except from hers is zoomed in, because you have to get right up in there in order to see any color. Zoom into his and you can see the same thing.
Agree. I’m also struck by how the colorful flowers are now behind that row of small bushes. Like you can’t get to them from behind a wall of shrubbery.
Does anyone remember the Golden Girls episode where they’re trying to save a tree? When there’s a hearing about it, a miserable old woman is like, “actually, it’s in my yard, and I WANT it chopped down”. So Rose stands up and insists that they should have a say, and tells the old lady, “if you don’t like it, you can just DROP DEAD!” And the old lady dies right then and there. Yeah…yeah…good episode…
Yes I do 🙂
She’s such an unpleasant person. Face of a prison warden, that one.
Judging by the top photo, she’s got the wardrobe to go with the face. She looks like she cosplays Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS.
Melania’s is just the most aggrieved trophy wife that ever trophied, ain’t she? I love the thought of her being unable to enjoy her spoils because of that giant chip on her shoulder.
I’m torn. I don’t like that the trees are gone, but I really don’t like tulips.
I was gonna say… why is it called a rose garden if it’s filled with tulips?
Tulips bloom in the spring and roses in the summer. The ‘then’ photo from that tweet is clearly taken in the spring as the tulips and crabapples are both in bloom, whereas the ‘now’ photo (and Melania’s version of it) looks like it was taken in midsummer. I don’t like Melania’s renovation, it’s way too dull and formal with the clipped topiary, but when it comes to gardening you can’t really compare photos taken in different seasons.
She’s as petty and awful as her husband. Other First Ladies wouldn’t bother, they’d be above it, but Melania amplifies her own haters because she can’t resist an opportunity to clap back.
The Trumps are horrible, but in this case … the trees were moved, and replanted, not cut down. Apparently they had to be moved because they were too big and preventing flowers from flourishing under their shade? The old roses had (mostly) died out, and new plants were needed. Even in Reagan’s time apparently they were aware of this. I personally can’t stand yellow or orange flowers, so I would’ve removed them also purely on aesthetic grounds. I know this turned into a thing, but according to news reports, it wasn’t really a thing. Finally, that is one manicured-to-death garden in ALL iterations, and they should have used native plants and allowed for a little more of a natural look.
I’m also suspicious of stories that ask us to get all excited about nothing as a probable attempt to distract us from the very serious and continuing human rights violations of the Trump era. I do not care that much about some roses that are a rich woman’s hobby in lieu of her actually contributing anything meaningful to help the people.
I’m with you. It kills me to defend the Trumps in any way but …. I don’t care about Jackie Kennedy’s trees or tulips? And every First Lady/Gentleman/Person SHOULD be able to change the grounds of their house, I mean Michelle did. This is such a nonsense thing, and frankly BOTH iterations are just overly manicured and ugly-looking in different ways, I prefer meadowized gardens with native plants.
I disagree. The rose garden was lovely, colorful and full of history. There were rose cultivars added by various First Ladies since Jackie. If some roses were too old, they could have been replaced with new plants, not steamrolled. I personally love tulips, roses, etc. I also love meadows with native plants, but not at the White House. I hope that the new sanitized and Trumpified Rose Garden will be restored to its well loved look. The one thing Melania was never accused of was having good taste.
I also disagree. The White House belongs to the people, not the people currently residing there.
The decades of historic beauty that was destroyed was shameful. She’s thin skinned and not worth a write up!
I hope some of the flowers were saved…
I mean, I’m not surprised at her lack of skills and reading comprehension, but I assumed someone in her staff could read properly. I guess not.
Melania’s Satan Christmases were the only thing that I looked forward to during those horrible years. Who didn’t cackle over them? I was disappointed that she caved their final Christmas, though of course she probably could not be bothered to do the work by then so someone else put together the normal Christmas decorations of 2019.
At the time, Melania’s Rose Garden redo was compared to the back entrance at a Sheraton, and that is the best description I have seen yet.
*Christmas 2020*
She literally destroyed LIVING HISTORY, the choices and contributions of decades of first ladies. Only a complete egomaniac narcissist would consider doing that. I’m a gardener who remains sick at heart over her disrespect.
Right there with you. My garden brings me joy and has been my savior many times in my life, including during quarantine.
Someone DID tell her that Beschloss is an actual historian???? And knows of what he speaks????
Besides he’s probably been to the White House more than she ever was so…
BeBest, Trump’s personal little Red Sparrow
It looks like something an HOA would put at the entrance of a subdivision.
It wasn’t just Jackie Kennedy’s design that she trashed. There were rose bushes – some of them heirloom – planted by First Ladies over the past 100 years. She didn’t have to trash the entire garden to fix some plumbing. It’s just typical of that family – no respect for anyone or anything. I wonder where the bushes are now. I hope the gardeners were able to save them and plant them elsewhere.
I speed read this initially as fisting and now there’s a visual in my brain that won’t go away.
“The Office of Melania Trump” plus her new, sketchy seal made me cackle.
At the time I thought, this is all because they want the cameras to be able to see them all the way along the portico, no trees to shut out the glorious view of he-schlumf and she-schlumf promenading forth.
Just as dumb and destructive as her mate. She should have continued not doing her job and left the rose garden alone.
I’m surprised this bitch could take time out of her “busy” day of pampering herself to start an argument over her “legacy”– which is probably the worst First Lady legacy EVER. WTF could she possibly care what people think of her death garden? Oh, I actually just read “Melania’s” tweet. Certainly it’s not her writing, so she didn’t even lift herself off the massage table to do a damn thing. My world view is safe after all.
Unknown to themselves they are primitive predators like the T-Rex who are here to destroy and fuck everything up, all to suit their own desires, neuroses, and personality and character flaws as deep as a crevasse, including greed, lust, sloth, envy, anger, gluttony, covetousness and pride (okay, I added one to the seven deadly sins). I associate them with the fires, floods, Covid, violence, etc. that are also wreaking havoc on our world, which he helped to usher in. He is like a Biblical curse.
No, a Biblical plague. Or curse. I can’t decide.
She could barely pronounce “Be Best”…much less accomplish the concept.
I don’t care much for melania or her life but I prefer monochromatic and simple so the redo actually looks better to me. Elegant. All that colour was too much. Needed some toning down.