Donald Trump is furious over what he says is a major flaw in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden. In a post on Truth Social dated Aug. 30, the 79-year-old president went on a long rant about a “huge gash” he claims was left in the limestone patio and didn’t hold back on who he blames.
Trump said he personally noticed the damage while admiring the new stonework, describing it as “deep and nasty” and stretching more than 25 yards. “I started yelling, ‘Who did this, and I want to find out now!’ ” he wrote, making it clear he didn’t say it in a “nice manner.” He questioned whether it was “vandalism” or just “stupidity,” but after checking surveillance footage, Trump says the answer was obvious.
According to him, a subcontractor was moving heavy landscaping with a steel cart that was “broken and tilting badly,” scraping against what he called the “soft, beautiful stone.”
In the footage he posted, workers can be seen wheeling plants through the garden, briefly getting stuck as the cart jolted off the stone before being lifted back up. Trump claimed their boss, who he pointed out was wearing sunglasses, appeared later in the video holding a leaf blower.
Trump wrote that he immediately fired the contractor responsible and vowed they will “never” work at the White House again. He also promised to replace the damaged stone and charge the contractor for it. “I love and respect great workers and contractors, but something like this should never happen,” he said. Before signing off, he praised the security system that caught the workers on camera, boasting, “We caught them, cold.”
In his post, Trump reminded followers that he used “the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere” in the Rose Garden, noting how important surfaces are to him “as a Builder.” He said the renovations had made the garden “far more beautiful than anyone ever had in mind when it was conceived of, decades ago.”
What’s less clear is where exactly the damage is. The video Trump shared doesn’t show the supposed gash, just the workers maneuvering around the patio.
The Rose Garden overhaul began in June and was described by a White House official as a “restoration.” The official told People that Trump and First Lady Melania “have deep respect for the history of the White House and for the Rose Garden.” The goal, they said, was to preserve the beauty of the space while improving its function for events, building on the controversial redesign Melania oversaw in 2020.
For now, Trump seems determined to make an example out of the contractors, while also reminding the public of the grandeur he insists the new Rose Garden represents.