Trump announces plan to chop down magnolia tree purportedly planted by Andrew Jackson: 'Must come to an end'
President Donald Trump announced plans to chop down a tree that was said to have been planted by former President Andrew Jackson.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said that he was working with "the wonderful people at the National Park Service" to make "tremendous enhancements to the White House, thereby preserving and protecting History!"
"One of the interesting dilemmas is a tree planted many years ago by the Legendary President and General, Andrew Jackson," Trump described. "It is a Southern Magnolia, that came from his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee. That’s the good news!"
"The bad news is that 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," he continued.
The historic tree will be chopped down in coming days, and Trump wrote that it will be replaced "by another, very beautiful tree."
"The Historic wood from the tree will be preserved by the White House Staff, and may be used for other high and noble purposes!!!" the president added.
Jackson, who served as president from 1829 to 1837, reportedly planted two magnolia trees near the White House in honor of his wife Rachel, who died in 1828. But according to the National Park Service's (NPS) website, the trees' connection to Old Hickory is debatable.
"Historical photographic documentation shows that magnolias first appeared at this location near the South Portico in the 1860s, still the trees are attributed to President Jackson," the agency explained.
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"In 2006, the trees were designated as Witness Trees by the National Park Service, having borne witness to many ‘significant historic and cultural events,’" the NPS described. "The base of the trees also took the brunt of a Cessna airplane crash which targeted the White House in September 1994 and were subject to significant branch removal and pruning in December 2017."
Initial reactions to Trump's announcement were mixed on social media, though supporters of the president largely supported the decision.
"I am a tree expert by trade, I’ve worked with trees for three decades now… these [magnolia] trees have notoriously soft wood that can become dry and brittle with age," one X user wrote. "I wouldn’t be anywhere near that thing."
"Be prepared for the left to treat this like WW3," another joked.
"He is trying to lie his head off and rewrite or destroy history!" a Trump critic wrote. "The tree is much more important than Trump will EVER be!"