Trump uses golden shovel to replace 200-year-old magnolia tree planted by Andrew Jackson in White House

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump used a golden shovel to plant a tree replacing the historic White House magnolia that was planted during former president Andrew Jackson's era on Tuesday, April 8, the New York Post reported.

The event was restricted for news media, with the White House sharing a brief clip and images on social media later. The president was accompanied by Dale Haney, the longtime grounds superintendent, of whom he said, "Dale’s been here 53 years. He’s fantastic."

“We have a beautiful tree now at the White House,” said Trump, who had announced the removal of the original 200-year-old tree on Truth Social on March 30, claiming that it had become a safety hazard.

The replacement is reportedly a 12-year-old sapling that is a direct descendant of the original, grown at an offsite greenhouse specifically for this purpose.

Donald Trump replaces 200-year-old magnolia tree in White House

The southern magnolia tree that was replaced by Donald Trump stood near the west side of the South Portico of the White House. It is reportedly where foreign leaders are welcomed on their visits, as well as from where POTUS leaves for or returns from the Marine One helicopter.

The seed from which the tree sprouted is said to have been brought from the Hermitage, the home of former President Andrew Jackson near Nashville in Tennessee.

Jackson was the seventh American president who was in office from 1829 to 1837.

According to the National Park Service website, "The (magnolia) seeds were planted to honor the memory of Jackson's late wife, Rachel, who had died suddenly just months prior to him assuming office."

The decision to remove the tree was based on an assessment made by Peter Hart, a registered consulting arborist and member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists.

It concluded that the tree had “surpassed the time of serving as an aesthetic and historic landmark due to the potential harm it may cause because of the risk of structural failure,” revealed the White House.

Outrage over Donald Trump replacing 200-year-old magnolia tree in White House

The wood from the old Magnolia tree will be saved for historical use. Initially, when the news was announced, the move stirred up a lot of discussion on social media, with many criticizing the decision.

A lot of X users were put off by Trump's decision, and one wrote what the repercussions of this move would be: "Be prepared for the left to treat this like WW3." 

Another X user claimed, "The left wants to start WW3 over a dead tree! Lmfao “He is trying to lie his head off and rewrite or destroy history! The tree is much more important than Trump will EVER be!"

One X user called Trump's decision an epic troll move as they wrote, "Bro is doing side quests to troll the liberals now."

Another X user had two words to say: "Destroying everything."

Donald Trump trolled for using golden shovel to plant tree

Netizens took to X (formerly Twitter) to brutally troll Donald Trump after the president used a gold shovel to plant a tree at the White House to replace the historic Magnolia.

"First work he's done since elected other than golf," wrote an X user.

"Clearly this man has never done any sort of manual labor," wrote another.

"Like he knows which end to dig with," one person commented.

"For a second, I hoped he was going to bury his tariff plans," another remarked.

"The most exercise he’s had in a decade," one individual declared.

"And all the (while) standing on a little piece of Astroturf, so his shoes don’t get dirty," someone else noted.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.