It begins with a bulldozer – and ends with a monument to his own overconfidence. In Washington, where roses once bloomed and First Ladies made history, Donald Trump is tearing up the ground. The Rose Garden of the White House, a symbol of restraint, dignity, and quiet diplomacy, has become a construction site. It is not a storm, not a war, not decay that is destroying it – it is the will of an old man who wants to press the world into marble, gold, and smooth stone.
Work began on Monday. Employees of the National Park Service – guardians of historical dignity – were deployed to remove the grass, tear up the soil, and pour a foundation. For a flagpole. For a patio. For a piece of Mar-a-Lago – in the heart of American political life. The message is unmistakable: Where others see responsibility, Trump sees a canvas for his ego. The Rose Garden was never just a garden. Jacqueline Kennedy had it created as a union of beauty and meaning. Hillary Clinton welcomed children here, Michelle Obama planted vegetables, Jill Biden honored war veterans. But now, where history once grew, grilling is meant to happen – on stone tiles in Florida style, overlooking the echo of power.
It is not the first time Trump has turned historic sites into the stage for his longings. As early as 2020, he had Melania Trump’s controversial Rose Garden “renovation” carried out, but what is happening now is more than bad taste. It is the deliberate destruction of a symbol – replaced by a private luxury vision that trades national dignity for country club aesthetics.
The Rose Garden is being transformed – into an extension of Trump’s ego. No room for nuance, no space for reflection. Just stone. Just a flagpole. Just the will of a man who sees the world as a backdrop for his self-presentation. And so a new scent returns to the Rose Garden – not that of roses, but of the cold, dusty harshness of concrete. The vanity of one man is stronger than the silent memory of an entire nation.
English 
German 
