Former first lady Melania Trump blasted a historian’s criticism of her Rose Garden renovations, calling his take “misleading” and “dishonorable.”
On Sunday, Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian for NBC News, tweeted a photo of what he claimed was the garden’s “evisceration.”
“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 tweeted.
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
But Melania Trump’s office didn’t let him have the last word.
"@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy," her office said on Twitter. "The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian."
.@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy. The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian. https://t.co/LU243SANF1 pic.twitter.com/PuVOSjxx5w
— Office of Melania Trump (@OfficeofMelania) August 8, 2021
A number of false claims about the former first lady’s renovations circulated last year when the new design was revealed on Aug. 22, 2020. Reuters did a fact check noting that “none of the original crab apple trees from the Kennedy administration remained when the renovation work began.” The 10 that were removed under Melania’s design were taken “to the off-campus White House gardening centre for care,” according to a CNN correspondent. “They will eventually be replanted on the WH grounds.”
According to a gardening columnist for the Washington Post, Melania’s plans had to address “the die-off of rose bushes to the point where only a dozen or so remained,” Reuters reported.
Furthermore, the fact check states, “Melania Trump did not remove the roses from all past First Ladies since 1913. All roses from 1913 to 1962 were removed in the Kennedy redesign and subsequent administrations have had to replace roses that have died.”
In May, first lady Jill Biden tweeted a beautiful photo of the Rose Garden welcoming spring.
Spring is here at the @WhiteHouse! pic.twitter.com/n87JOlJ7NN
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 7, 2021
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