Joni Mitchell (and Counting Crows) sang about paving paradise and putting up a parking lot, but the White House probably wasn't what Mitchell had in mind when she penned her famous lyrics. Sources tell the New York Times that President Trump is mulling a "Mar-a-Lago vibe" for the Rose Garden, which would involve tearing up the grass in "one of the White House's most iconic and meticulously maintained spots" and putting down a hard surface to resemble the patio he's got at his Florida estate. Sources say design plans have already been drafted, and that Trump is waffling between a limestone floor or some kind of interchangeable material, "with the possibility of hardwood floors for dancing," notes the Times.
"The roses, apparently, will stay," however. The Rose Garden revamp isn't the only thing on Trump's wish list: Sources tell the Times that the commander in chief also hopes to soon dangle a grand chandelier from the Oval Office's ceiling, and that's he's talking about installing a ballroom. Changes that have already been made at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. include various gold knickknacks and a slew of presidential portraits scattered throughout, including a unique one of his own—a photo from the front page of the New York Post showing Trump's mugshot from when he was indicted in Georgia's Fulton County.
"The White House has not been given any tender, loving care in many decades, so President Trump is taking necessary steps in order to preserve and restore the greatness and glory of 'the People's House,'" a White House spokesman says in a statement to the Times. However, Columbia historian Timothy Naftali says that while White House residents have made changes over the years to the out-of-sight residential areas, first families have usually known "the White House is a museum that belongs to the American people," with "an obligation not to step too far outside of tradition in the public spaces."
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The president isn't the first Trump to cause a hubbub over the Rose Garden. In the summer of 2020, during her husband's first term, first lady Melania Trump made headlines for her redo of the garden, which included an updated irrigation and electric system, per Town & Country—but which also involved getting rid of colorful tulips and other plants and trees in exchange for a more muted look that some compared to a cemetery. The Times takes a look back at the Rose Garden through the years. (More Rose Garden stories.)
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