The magnolia tree planted on the South Lawn of the White House by President Andrew Jackson centuries ago will be cut down and removed this week, CNN reported.
The tree, one of three on the west side of the White House and the oldest on the White House grounds, has been deemed decayed and will be taken down due to safety risks.
The White House will remove a large portion of a nearly 200 year-old Magnolia tree planted by Andrew Jackson due to safety concerns. pic.twitter.com/G9pRAwYkWY
— AJ+ (@ajplus) 27 декабря 2017 г.
The decision was made by First Lady Melania Trump after reviewing reports from the US National Arboretum about the tree’s condition, Stephanie Grisham, a FLOTUS spokesperson, said.
"After reviewing the reports, she trusted that every effort had been made to preserve the historic tree and was concerned about the safety of visitors and members of the press who are often standing right in front of the tree during Marine One lifts," Grisham told CNN.
Grisham added that Trump has requested the wood from the Jackson Magnolia to be preserved.
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According to National Arboretum documents obtained by CNN, "the overall architecture and structure of the tree is greatly compromised and the tree is completely dependent on the artificial support." The documents also noted that the trouble with tree began as far back as five decades ago.
The news has drawn mixed reactions on social media, with some even blaming President Donald Trump for the tree’s problems and the decision to cut it down.
The White House will undergo change this week: the historic Jackson Magnolia, a tree that has been in place since the 1800s, is scheduled to be cut down and removed. I wondering if Trump is placing a statute of himself in it's place!!
— R. B. Resists (@rbc1643) 27 декабря 2017 г.
Even the Magnolia tree rejects Donald Trump. #SaveTheTree #ImpeachTrump
— alapierre (@Anna_LaPierre) 27 декабря 2017 г.
Iconic White House magnolia “completely dependent on artificial support" and will be removed. Hell of a metaphor.https://t.co/EzKDzfxGYp
— Karen DaltonBeninato (@kbeninato) 26 декабря 2017 г.
Trump is so filth ridden he's rotting out iconic White House Magnolia trees that have been there for hundreds of years.A dying tree is representative of Trump's brutal attack on Mother Earth & science. How Bout they leave the Iconic White House tree and remove trump.
— Capt. Sum Ting Wong (@alexissohel5) 26 декабря 2017 г.
So the Magnolia tree at the White House needs to be taken down due to disease. Is that true or did someone just tell #45 that Obama planted it? Just asking…
— Kelsey Goff (@Kelsey3269) 27 декабря 2017 г.
However, according to CNN, a new tree, an offshoot of the Jackson Magnolia, will soon be planted to replace the historic tree after its removal.
@realDonaldTrump sad to hear about Andrew Jackson's Magnolia needing to come down… The Whitehouse won't quite look the same without it. I think we need to replace it with a similar sized tree… My friend(the expert tree transplanter) and I would love to be apart of it! #MAGA
— Daniel H Williams (@Dan_H_W) 27 декабря 2017 г.
"Iconic White House tree" will be removed for rot & decay. An offshoot of the Jackson Magnolia, born directly from the original, will soon be planted in its place. A fitting metaphor for the @realDonaldTrump administration. Renewal from decay. THANK YOU.
— Succinct Lola (@lovelalola) 26 декабря 2017 г.
The 200 y.o. Andrew Jackson magnolia tree, has to be removed due to it being split and having bad maintenance in the past. Or it is going to fall. Several trees born of this same tree have been planted thru out the yrs. Some now quite high. One of them will replace it.
— 🎄DT🎅🏻MERRY⛄️CHRISTMAS❄️2017 (@roxyloveslucy) 26 декабря 2017 г.
