President Donald Trump has yet another Washington, D.C., makeover project dominating his mind, and according to the Washington Post, it all has to do with counting the number of trees close to the White House.
While voters consistently tell pollsters that they are struggling with the cost of living and blame the president for the rough shape of their economy, Trump has remained almost singularly fixated on numerous projects attempting to renovate, remodel and remake the nation’s capital to his own liking. This has involved everything from an enormous and costly ballroom for the White House to painting the Reflecting Pool blue to plotting a massive “triumphal arch” near the Potomac River.
Now, in a Sunday morning report, the Washington Post exposed his latest fixation: the number of trees at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. Trump has reportedly demanded that the public park, which he has dubbed “the entrance to the White House,” feature 47 trees to commemorate his current presidency.
“President Donald Trump in recent months has cultivated a side project: counting the number of trees in a public park across the street from the White House,” the report detailed. “Under Trump’s plans for Lafayette Square, which he has previously described as ‘the entrance to the White House,’ the public park would feature 47 trees, matching his status as the nation’s 47th president, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the administration’s plans for the park. The trees would all be maples, a favorite of the president’s.”
It added later: “The park has historically contained several dozen trees, although some have been taken out during renovations. It’s unclear how many additional trees Trump would plant to get to 47 and whether he would remove any existing trees as part of his effort. Officials cautioned that as with Trump’s other building and design projects — which they have acknowledged he has tended to micromanage — nothing is final until the president formally announces it.”
Lafayette Park is situated to the north of the White House and is managed by the National Park Service. It has been undergoing renovations since January. Trump has previously pledged that these renovations will be completed by July 4, a date he is pushing hard for on numerous projects, so that they can be ready for the nation’s 250th birthday.
The Post, however, noted that sources close to the project estimate that such a timeline is highly unlikely, and that Lafayette Park is more likely to reopen in August at the earliest.
“The president’s plans to memorialize his presidency in tree form, which have not previously been reported, represent one more way that Trump is seeking to put his imprint on the White House and its grounds,” the report explained further. “Trump has torn down the East Wing to begin building his planned ballroom, paved over the Rose Garden, installed new statues, and overhauled the Palm Room and the colonnade outside the West Wing, among other projects.”
It continued: “Trump has claimed that he made a multimillion-dollar contribution to Lafayette Square’s renovations, but he has not provided evidence of his gift. The administration has not publicly posted contracting documents for the project. The administration also did not present its plans for Lafayette Square to federal review panels before beginning its work. Trump, a real estate developer before entering politics, has a long history of picking out trees for his projects and has expressed particular fondness for maple trees.”