Critics Hope To See Melania's Soulless Rose Garden Makeover Buried
One thing critics of first lady Melania Trump would really like to see packed up and carted away is her sterile renovation of the White House Rose Garden.
The makeover reminded at least one Twitter wit of the creepy dead twins from “The Shining”:
Melania's Rose Garden... pic.twitter.com/T8hWu9GHBY
— 🌎 The Tao of Kat 🌎 (@kathrynresister) January 18, 2021
That touch of the macabre became a bit of a hallmark of Trump’s White House style as evident in her 2018 Christmas decorations featuring blood-red Christmas trees. (Vogue described the previous year’s white trees as having “distinctly desolate, post-apocalyptic ice chamber vibes.”)
lol she did i it again
Melania Trump’s idea of Christmas decor looks like Tim Burton/David Lynch nightmare pic.twitter.com/rkcEcqcV3H— matt 🦆 (@MattDuckEmoji) November 26, 2018
Those kinds of themes carried right through to the somber Rose Garden renovations, which involved adding walkways and removing trees and flowers:
“The garden will feel more open and sunnier but perhaps less interesting. It will feel the loss of the crab apple trees, which are full of effervescent blossom in April, decorative fruit in September and a sculptural quality in the winter. They served as a reminder of Washington’s seasonality, and the preciousness of time,” noted a review in The Washington Post about the makeover. “It will also “feel the loss of the crab apple trees, which are full of effervescent blossom in April, decorative fruit in September and a sculptural quality in the winter.”
The Rose Garden, which was most significantly renovated by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962, acquired a new reputation last September when it became the site of a COVID superspreader event that honored new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett:
CoViD Gardens when it's in bloom... pic.twitter.com/rlhxr2JnDK
— Ace Hoffman masks up & stays home to save lives! (@AceHoffman) January 18, 2021
Many Americans are still pining for the former garden and hoping incoming first lady Jill Biden will restore it to a pre-Trump glory. The two women will not meet before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration because Trump has decided to forgo the tradition of welcoming her replacement.
I do miss the color of the old Rose Garden. Hopefully it will come back - including the crab apple trees. https://t.co/zaWKMZHTgx
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) January 18, 2021
Dr. Biden, please bring Jackie's Rose Garden back. 🌹🌷🌼🌸🌺🌾🌻
Sincerely, America. pic.twitter.com/IrkOFnMgZz— Jenn 🐇 (@GenXJenn3) January 18, 2021
Melania needs a pardon for that rose garden😂
— Y'all hurry up🏳️🌈🇺🇲 Sec of prisons & sarcasm (@catfishyak) January 18, 2021
Rose Garden Assassin pic.twitter.com/tkxaGL5MmZ
— Patricia (@Trishalla2012) January 18, 2021
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.