Historic tree to be cut down at the White House over safety concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — A histrion that's astir 2 centuries aged volition beryllium removed from the White House grounds due to the fact that it's deteriorating, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

The confederate magnolia stands adjacent the curved portico connected the southbound broadside of the building. It's wherever overseas leaders are often welcomed for ceremonial visits, and wherever the president departs to committee the Marine One helicopter.

According to the National Park Service website, “folklore tells us” that President Andrew Jackson brought the tree’s seeds from his location adjacent Nashville, Tennessee. It was seemingly planted successful grant of his woman Rachel, who died soon earlier helium took bureau successful 1829.

“The atrocious quality is that everything indispensable travel to an end, and this histrion is successful unspeakable condition, a precise unsafe information hazard, astatine the White House Entrance, nary less, and indispensable present beryllium removed,” Trump wrote connected Truth Social, his societal media platform. “This process volition instrumentality spot adjacent week, and volition beryllium replaced by another, precise beauteous tree.”

Trump said the wood from the histrion “may beryllium utilized for different precocious and noble purposes!!!”

The histrion was importantly pruned successful 2017, during Trump's archetypal term. It was besides damaged successful 1994 erstwhile a tiny Cessna level crashed into the South Lawn and skidded into the White House.