President Donald Trump has published footage he said showed a “stupid” subcontractor damaging limestone in the White House’s newly reworked Rose Garden.
Why It Matters
Trump has remolded chunks of the White House to his taste since returning to office at the start of the year, decking out the Oval Office and announcing the construction of a new ballroom to the tune of $200 million.
Work finished on paving over the previously grassy lawn of the Rose Garden in recent weeks, and Trump was spotted surveying the progress of renovation work on the space from the White House roof as he shouted down to talk with journalists earlier this month.
Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in March that the grass area “doesn’t work” for press conferences, but “gorgeous stone” would work better for one of the White House’s most iconic spots.
What To Know
Trump said on Saturday said he had noticed “a huge gash in the limestone” stretching more than 25 yards three days earlier while “admiring the stonework.”
“It was deep and nasty! I started yelling, ‘Who did this, and I want to find out now!’ —And I didn’t say this in a nice manner,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social platform.
The president said security cameras had captured footage of a subcontractor using a broken steel cart that was “rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone.”
“We caught them, cold,” Trump said, adding he would replace the broken stone, charge the contractor for the damage and bar the construction worker from the White House.
The Rose Garden stretches back to Ellen Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, but was overhauled under President John F. Kennedy while he and his wife, Jackie Kennedy, resided in the White House. The roses that gave the space its name remain.
“I think that both Kennedys would be startled, and not in a good way, since they were apparently grass lovers and it is such a dramatic change,” Professor Katherine Jellison, a historian at Ohio University, told British newspaper The Telegraph.
Trump said he had opted for “the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere” for the paving over of the Rose Garden.
The new design has for months drawn overt comparisons to Trump’s Florida gold club and resort, Mar-a-Lago. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the yellow umbrellas on the Rose Garden patio were bought from the same vendor that provided those for Mar-a-Lago.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday: “The Rose Garden is completed, and far more beautiful than anyone ever had in mind when it was conceived of, decades ago.”
What Happens Next
It is not clear how quickly the crack in the stone will be repaired.
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