President Donald Trump’s White House revamp has officially reached the landscaping.
A nearly two-century-old magnolia tree said to have been planted by President Andrew Jackson was removed from the South Lawn on Monday, amid concerns the ailing evergreen could pose a safety risk if it fell.
The next day, Trump was on hand to celebrate its replacement: a 12-year-old sapling descended from the original Jackson tree, which he dubbed the “MAGAnolia.”
“We have a beautiful tree now at the White House,” Trump declared in a video posted to the official White House X account.
Believed to be the oldest tree on the grounds, the Jackson Magnolia had long outlived the breed’s typical 100-year lifespan.
Historians say the original was transplanted from Jackson’s Tennessee home in honor of his late wife, Rachel, sometime during his 1829 to 1837 tenure in office.
The decision to cut it down followed an assessment from professional arborist Peter Hart, who determined the tree had “surpassed the time of serving as an aesthetic and historic landmark,” according to a White House press statement.
CHRIS KLEPONIS via Getty Images
Trump addressed the move in a Truth Social post last week, saying, “The bad news is everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed.”
In his post, the president noted that officials will be preserving parts of the magnolia’s wood, which “may be used for other high and noble purposes.”
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The symbolism behind swapping one Jackson tree for another also seems fitting, given Trump’s well-documented admiration for the 7th president.
The wartime general’s legacy has long been criticized for his racist policies, especially the Indian Removal Act, which led to the forced displacement of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears.