Donald Trump explained to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham why he is paving over the grass in the White House Rose Garden during a tour of the property that aired this week.
Ingraham, who had just finished an interview with Trump, asked as they walked into the Rose Garden: “Are you … are you paving over the grass here?”
Trump responded: “What was happening is, it’s supposed to have events. Every event you have, it’s soaking wet. It’s soaking wet. And people can’t. And the women with the high heels, it’s just too much.”
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“The grass just doesn’t work,” the president continued. “And we have a gorgeous stone and everything else. But, you know, we use it for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall into the … you know, into the wet, the soaking wet.”
Ingraham asked: “The roses stay? The grass goes?”
“The roses stay,” Trump confirmed. “No, it’s a rose garden. No. All of this stays. Just the center section [of grass will be paved over]. I think it’s gonna be beautiful. I think it’s gonna be more beautiful.”
Last month, The New York Times reported that Trump wanted to replace the grass with a hard surface in the style of the patio at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
On social media, critics slammed the renovation as symbolic of the president and his administration.