Melania Trump hits back at presidential historian who criticized her White House rose garden renovations

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U.S. First Lady Melania Trump meets with teens to discuss the dangers of youth vaping at the White House October 9, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Melania Trump

Former First Lady Melania Trump applauds after receiving criticism over her redesign of the White House Rose Garden.

On Saturday, Michael Beschloss, presidential historian for NBC News, shared a tweet reflecting the changes to the rose garden overseen by Melania, 51, a year ago, calling it an “evisceration” of the region. “The evisceration of the White House rose garden was completed a year ago this month, and here is the grim result of decades of American history that have vanished,” he wrote alongside. a photo of the garden.

Shortly after, Melania’s office responded to criticism on Twitter, criticizing Beschloss for highlighting a “misleading” photo of the garden before the roses bloomed. She then shared her own photo of the iconic garden with its flowers in full bloom.

“. @ BeschlossDC proved their ignorance by showing a photo of the rose garden in its early days. The rose garden is adorned with a healthy and colorful bloom of roses. Its misleading information is dishonorable and it should never be trusted as one. professional historian, ”his office wrote via Twitter on Sunday.

It was a rare statement from Melania, who has rarely been seen in public since leaving Washington, DC in January, and has only made a few comments in the media, such as when she recently disputed reports of comments. that she would have done during her husband’s campaign.

The historic rose garden has long been used as the backdrop for important speeches and White House ceremonies. Trump first announced that the renovation would take place at the end of July 2020 and many social media users have been throwing viral punches at him, calling it a deaf decision amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and the economic damage that has ensued. result as well as national unrest over racial injustice.

Melania Trump unveils Rose Garden redesign

Melania Trump / Twitter White House Rose Garden

RELATED: White House Rose Garden Undergoing Renovation Ahead of 2020 Election, Twitter Responds

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The result of the three-week renovation was then unveiled in August 2020. Many have shared their disapproval of the new landscaping on social media, especially the decision to remove a dozen crabapples planted in the garden by the former first lady. Jackie Kennedy even as The White House said the changes were to restore the garden to its original 1962 design under Kennedy.

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In April, a petition was created calling on First Lady Jill Biden to reverse changes to the rose garden that “wrested” the legacy from Kennedy’s design. “We want Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff to take it over and restore the rose garden to Jackie’s original design,” read the petition, which has since received more than 82,000 signatures.

The former first lady also faced backlash in March 2020 when she shared photos of construction workers building a private tennis complex on the White House grounds as the COVID-19 pandemic began. to have an impact on the United States.

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