First Lady Melania Trump

Drainage Issues With Melania’s Rose Garden Are a Metaphor for the Trump Presidency

I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.
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It was just 3 weeks ago that America’s most disinterested First Lady Melania Trump unveiled the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, and like most Trump reveals, it was met with anger and confusion.

First, there was the cognitive dissonance of renovating a garden while America is struggling with multiple crises, an out-of-touch move that led to “Melania Antoinette” trending on social media. And then there was the renovation itself, which saw the colorful and vibrant rose garden stripped of its history and made to look like straight up garbage.

But now, in classic Trump fashion, the hideous new garden is undergoing a second renovation, thanks to mistakes made during the first one. According to sources at the scene, the garden renovation created “issues with water drainage” and “some minor complications with updated construction.”

Instead of holding press conferences in the rose garden, Trump has been forced to seek other venues at and away from the White House, and the drainage issues were so severe that during Melania’s RNC speech, the muddied garden had to be covered with a turf lawn.

I can think of no more apt metaphor for the Trump presidency than this one: the destruction of a beautiful and beloved piece of American history, made ugly and non-functioning by the Trumps’ interference. Truly, this family ruins everything they get their greedy hands on. How ironic that the president who sells himself as a real estate kingpin can’t even build a functioning garden.

But Donald Trump has never been good at building or running businesses—or anything, really.

Many people took to social media to call out the rose garden mess, and how it perfectly illustrates Trump’s ability to ruin everything he touches, like a reverse King Midas:

(via CNN, image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.