Melania Trump has broken her silence with regard to her heavily criticized\u00a02020 redesign of the White House Rose Garden.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss alluded to the former first lady\u2019s horticultural handiwork on Twitter when he marked the one-year anniversary of the garden\u2019s \u201cevisceration\u201d with a photo showing the less-than-spectacular result.<\/p>\n
The Twitter account \u201cOffice of Melania Trump\u201d rebutted the assessment a day later with a photo that showed the garden, presumably post-renovation, with more colorful flowers visible.<\/p>\n
In a tweet, the former first lady\u2019s team argued that Beschloss had \u201cproven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian,\u201d the tweet read.<\/p>\n
The \u201cOffice of Melania Trump\u201d account is not verified, but The Hill reported it to be affiliated with the former first lady when it first launched, and Trump herself has retweeted the account from her own verified account at least twice.<\/p>\n
Trump unveiled her overhaul of the White House Rose Garden last August, just days before she delivered a speech there as part of the 2020 Republican National Convention. The month-long project reportedly involved removing trees, replacing floral beds and installing paved walkways, as well as upgrading drainage and irrigation systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe garden will feel more open and sunnier but perhaps less interesting,\u201d observed The Washington Post, which called the renovation \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much like Trump\u2019s sterile Christmas decor for the White House, however,\u00a0the Rose Garden\u2019s new look drew harsh criticism online. By autumn,\u00a0it acquired a new reputation when it became the site of a COVID-19 \u201csuperspreader\u201d event honoring Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In April,\u00a0an online petition calling for first lady Jill Biden to restore the White House Rose Garden \u2015 which has long been associated with former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy \u2015 was established. As of Monday, the petition had garnered more than 80,000 signatures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n