It was almost a year ago that Melania Trump, then-first lady of the United States, unveiled her revamp of the White House Rose Garden, with pictures that were described as a “horror story”.
Cherry trees and colourful plants were uprooted and replaced in favour of shrubbery and pavements. Some of the flowers were placed in the garden by first lady Jackie Kennedy back in the 1960s, when her husband John F. Kennedy was president.
Twitter was reminded of Melania’s Rose Garden on Saturday, when NBC’s presidential historian Michael Beschloss shared a picture of the greenery to the social media platform.
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
“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,” he wrote.
Now, with a new first lady in the White House in the form of Dr Jill Biden, people are hoping that she’ll be looking to restore the garden to its former glory:
I've been hoping for this, too. @FLOTUS?
— That's HEDLEY! (@HedleyLamarr23) August 7, 2021
Dr Biden should see that it is restored to its previous glory!
— Bekki (@FarmBekki) August 7, 2021
So symbolic of our times. It needs to be restored to its previous glory. 🇨🇦
— Knitterforever (@heathbec) August 7, 2021
Hopefully @FLOTUS can restore its beauty!
— Kim Johnson, M.Ed. (@macchica26) August 8, 2021
I think @POTUS and @WHCOS should enlist Caroline Kennedy to oversee the restoration project.
— WendyMcNamara (@WendyMc1111) August 7, 2021
I can’t wait to see what @FLOTUS does to the White House Rose Garden! 🌹
— Protect Robert Mueller ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) August 7, 2021
She will certainly fix Melania’s mess. pic.twitter.com/RueSsTtioy
Dear @FLOTUS ! Please restore the Rose Garden. Heartbreaking what Melania & #TheLoser did to our country. Restoring the Rose Garden could show that we will survive & thrive after the 4 year reign of terror. Thank you. https://t.co/YjqKVTb3eN
— JustSusan ⭐️ (@TassajaraRd) August 7, 2021
There's a lot going on right now. Hopefully in spring Jill can make it beautiful again. 🌼🌻🌷🌼🌺🌲🌳🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
— Mrs.Bumble (@MissEllen_10) August 7, 2021
Wish @FLOTUS would fix 🙏
— marybl (@marybl62) August 7, 2021
I know it seems small compared to everything else right now, but I seriously hope @FLOTUS puts it back.
— No Justice, No Peace! 💉💉 (@SmcSheila) August 7, 2021
In fact, back in April, a Change.org petition was launched to revert the Rose Garden back to Kennedy’s “original design”. It now stands at more than 81,000 signatures.
People are still criticising Melania’s version online, too, with one user calling it “tasteless” and a “symbol of what the Trumps did to this nation.”
One year ago this month Melania was decimating the WH Rose Garden pic.twitter.com/FwuvuV2kFa
— Carolyn from Maryland (@carolyn_from) August 7, 2021
Hey, check out my new Rose Garden! I modeled it on Melania’s. pic.twitter.com/FK09mEyRWX
— Tim Schenck (@FatherTim) August 7, 2021
People are still upset over what Melania did to the WH Rose Garden, but they should be more concerned with her redecorating the Lincoln Bedroom pic.twitter.com/vOryuw3lIb
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) August 7, 2021
Cold and without any color or depth. An apt metaphor for Melania.
— SarahCA (@SarahBCalif) August 7, 2021
— DAWG (@88SEATTLE61) August 7, 2021
Destroying the Rose Garden is the eternal legacy of @MELANIATRUMP and a symbol of what the Trumps did to this nation. pic.twitter.com/1STIhcjO3u
— Chafed Charlie (@ChafedCharlie) August 7, 2021
Here’s hoping that we can one day report that Biden ‘rose’ to the challenge.
