Donald Trump and Melania are changing the White House Rose Garden again. This time, they put concrete over the grass where President Kennedy once had a beautiful lawn. Trump says he did it because people fall on the wet grass.
On July 22, 2025, new photos showed a big concrete slab covering the Rose Garden. The grass that was there since 1961 is now gone. Trump told Fox News why he made this choice.
“We use the garden for press meetings, and it doesn’t work because people fall,” Trump said. “The ground gets wet, and it’s soft. Women wearing high heels have trouble walking in them.”
The White House refers to these changes as a “restoration project.” They say Donald and Melania care about the garden’s history and want to make it better for events.
This isn’t the first time the Rose Garden caused problems. In 2020, Melania changed the garden, and many people got angry. She removed the old rose bushes and replaced them with limestone borders, which looked very different.
Vox Visual: White House Rose Garden After Melania Trump’s 2020 Redesign”
A famous historian named Michael Beschloss said Melania’s changes looked “grim.” He was upset that decades of American history were being erased. Melania’s office got mad and fought back on social media.
“This historian is showing a picture of the garden when it was new,” Melania’s team wrote. “The Rose Garden has beautiful, colourful roses blooming. He’s giving wrong information and shouldn’t be trusted.”
What’s Really Happening
The truth is, the Rose Garden had been plagued by problems for years before Trump arrived. Only 12 old rose bushes were left when Melania started her 2020 project. The flowers weren’t growing well due to poor drainage and insufficient sunlight.
Melania added 200 new rose bushes in 2020 to address these issues. However, Trump remained dissatisfied with how the garden functioned for his events.
Now, Trump is covering more of the garden with concrete. The National Park Service is undertaking the work, and a group called the Trust for the National Mall is covering the costs. They expect to complete the project by August 2025.
Trump’s Gold Obsession Continues
The Rose Garden isn’t the only place where Trump is making changes. He’s also adding gold decorations all over the White House. A report from April showed that Trump brought his “gold guy” from Mar-a-Lago to Washington.
John Icart is a cabinetmaker who has worked at Trump’s Florida club for years. Now he’s putting gold borders around Trump’s pictures, adding gold carvings to fireplaces, and putting a gold Trump symbol in doorways.
These gold decorations resemble Trump’s apartment in Trump Tower and his Mar-a-Lago club. Everything Trump owns is adorned with gold and elaborate decorations.
What People Think
Many people are upset about these changes. They believe the White House should resemble America’s house, not Trump’s personal club. The Rose Garden has been important for 60 years, and now it looks like a hotel patio.
Other people support Trump’s changes. They think he should be able to make the White House work better for his job. They say if people are falling on the grass, concrete makes sense.
Trump’s style is distinctly different from that of other presidents. Barack Obama and Joe Biden liked simple, clean designs. Trump likes everything to be fancy, gold, and expensive-looking.
Trump is likely to continue making changes during his time in the White House. He wants everything to remind him of Mar-a-Lago because that’s where he feels most comfortable.
Some changes may remain permanent, even after Trump’s term ends. Future presidents will have to decide whether they want to keep Trump’s concrete patio or restore the grass.
The Rose Garden makeover demonstrates how much one president can transform America’s most iconic house. Whether people love it or hate it, the White House will never look the same again.
For Trump and Melania, these changes make the White House feel more like home. Critics worry about losing the building’s history and tradition.
