Melania Trump defends one of her most controversial moves as first lady, reveals she’ll tell the whole story in her new book
Former first lady Melania Trump references her controversial redesign of the White House Rose Garden in a new post promoting her book, without making any mention of the public outrage that erupted.
She placed about the redesign on her X account Friday, in her latest strange segment while teasing an upcoming book. Previous posts defended her posing for nude photos early in her modeling career, complete with images of Michelangelo’s David.
This time, she brought up the garden’s sweeping 2020 renovation, which she carried out in a multi-day marketing campaign as part of her husband’s bid to reclaim the White House.
“When the White House Preservation Commission asked me to renovate the Rose Garden, I felt a great responsibility to respect its tradition and preserve its grandeur for future generations,” she says in her distinctly accented English, as dramatic string music plays in the background.
“In my book I shared the story of this journey. How my team and I are working to protect this piece of our history,” she said.
Her comments are just a hint at the conflict over the Rose Garden’s new design, which was tied to a 1960s design led by Jacqueline Kennedy.
Former first lady Melania Trump said in a new video clip promoting her book that she felt “a deep responsibility to respect tradition” during the 2020 overhaul of the White House Rose Garden. Historian Michael Beschloss criticized the move
Presidential historian and author Michael Beschloss is among those who have been vocal in his criticism of the project, which involved removing mature dogwood trees and planting new flowers and shrubs in a strict pattern.
Beschloss took radical action a year after the revelation.
“A year ago this month, the dismantling of the White House Rose Garden was completed, and this was the somber result: decades of American history lost,” he wrote.
The first lady took the unusual step of hitting back online. She noted that the photo he posted in his tweet showed the garden in its early stages. She posted a more recent photo of the rose garden, where the pink and white flowers are in full bloom and blossoming.
“.@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a photo of the Rose Garden in its early days. The Rose Garden is blessed with a healthy and colorful bloom of roses,” the former first lady’s office wrote on Twitter.
Flowers are now blooming in the redesigned rose garden
The video contains footage of the design process
The new design sparked controversy during Trump’s highly charged final year in office
Her latest pitch for her book comes after the former first lady defended her nude photos early in her modeling career
Her book will be published on October 1st
“His misleading information is dishonorable and he should never be trusted as a professional historian,” she added.
According to a 2021 CNN report, the renovation included “removing virtually all of the garden’s plants, trees and flowers, digging up an outdated irrigation system and installing a new one, creating a cohesive audiovisual system, laying paving for walkways, and replanting virtually all of the shrubs and seedlings.”
Her post about her nude modeling seemed to hint at a controversy over her modeling decades ago, although there had been no recent criticism of her. Black-and-white images of Melania Knauss’ early modeling work did surface and garner attention during the 2016 campaign.
“Why do I stand so proudly behind my nude modeling work? The most pressing question is: why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?”
In videos of nude artworks, she defended the use of “art as a powerful tool for self-expression.”
It was the fifth video in which she promoted her book, during an election campaign. Melania drew attention with the times she did and did not stand by her husband at political events.
The voice-over video was made four days after the second attempted murder of her husband.
She appeared at the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee, but did not speak there as she did in 2016.
Her book, titled “Melania,” will be released on October 1. It is available for pre-order on Amazon for $30.
She is selling two editions: a $150 collector’s edition with 256 full-color pages, with each copy signed by the author. The memoir edition will be 304 pages and available for $40 with signed copies available for $75.
In her second video, Melania questions the way law enforcement handled the first attempted murder of her husband.
“There is definitely more to this story,” she said in a cryptic comment about the July shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, the first time she had spoken about it.
“I can’t help but wonder why the police didn’t arrest the shooter before the speech? There is definitely more to this story. And we need to find out the truth.