White House to cut down tree thought to be planted by Andrew Jackson

A nearly two-century-old tree with a history tied to the former US president Andrew Jackson will be removed from the White House grounds because it is deteriorating, Donald Trump said on Sunday.

The southern magnolia stands near the curved portico on the south side of the building. It is where foreign leaders are often welcomed for ceremonial visits, and where the president departs to board the Marine One helicopter.

According to the National Park Service website, “folklore tells us” that Jackson brought the tree’s seeds from his home near Nashville, Tennessee. It was apparently planted in honor of his wife Rachel, who died shortly before he took office in 1829.

“The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “This process will take place next week, and will be replaced by another, very beautiful tree.”

Trump said the wood from the tree “may be used for other high and noble purposes!!!”

The tree was significantly pruned in 2017, during Trump’s first presidency. It was also damaged in 1994 when a small Cessna plane crashed into the South Lawn and skidded into the White House.

Historians have come to view Jackson’s legacy as mixed at best. For instance, he owned enslaved people and oversaw the genocidal displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral lands while also successfully leading New Orleans’s defense against British military invaders in 1814.