President Donald Trump has posted footage showing what he called a “stupid” subcontractor damaging limestone in the newly renovated Rose Garden at the White House.
Why It Matters
Since returning to office earlier this year, Trump has been making changes to the White House to suit his taste, including redecorating the Oval Office and announcing a $200 million ballroom project.
In recent weeks, work was completed on paving over the previously grassy Rose Garden. Trump was spotted earlier this month watching the renovation from the White House roof and talking with reporters below.
Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in March that the grass “doesn’t work” for press conferences, but “gorgeous stone” would be better for one of the White House’s most well-known areas.
What To Know
On Saturday, Trump said he had noticed “a huge gash in the limestone” stretching more than 25 yards while “admiring the stonework” three days earlier.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social account.
Trump said security cameras caught a subcontractor using a broken steel cart that “rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone.”
“We caught them, cold,” Trump added. He said he would replace the damaged stone, charge the contractor, and bar the worker from the White House.
The Rose Garden dates back to Ellen Wilson, the wife of President Woodrow Wilson, but it was redesigned under President John F. Kennedy while he and Jackie Kennedy lived in the White House. The roses that gave the garden 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,” said Professor Katherine Jellison, a historian at Ohio University, in The Telegraph.
Trump said he chose “the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere” for the Rose Garden paving.
The new design has drawn comparisons to Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the yellow umbrellas on the patio were bought from the same vendor used at Mar-a-Lago.
What People Are Saying
President Trump posted 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 yet clear how quickly the crack in the stone will be repaired.
