Melania Defends Her Failed White House Garden Project & Public Reaction Isn't So Rosy

Melania Trump's forthcoming memoir, "Melania," is just a few weeks away from its release. In the lead up, the former First Lady has released several videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, to promote the book. The first video gave her husband, Donald Trump, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it treatment. Another clip seemed to suggest a conspiracy theory about the assassination attempt against him back in July. Yet, her latest video has possibly the strangest angle yet. She is speaking about the controversial redo she gave the White House Rose Garden during her time as First Lady. And, unsurprisingly, she's receiving criticism from the internet.

https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/mHS1CLF4uO

— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 20, 2024

In 2020, Melania was in charge of the renovation of the White House Rose Garden. This was the first time the garden has been redone since the 1960s, and since then, former First Lady Jackie Kennedy's design remained intact. So, when, under Melania's oversight, nearly all of the garden's contents were ripped up, many folks weren't happy. This project was one of the few Melania took the lead on as First Lady, and it often seemed like she didn't desire more responsibility. Who could forget the bizarre recording of her discussing the tradition of First Ladies decorating the White House for the holidays, in which she said, "Who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decorations?" 

However, Melania claimed to take the garden revamp seriously, which earned her some criticism on social media.

Melania Trump's newest video shows imagery of the designs for her updated White House Rose Garden. Her voiceover begins, "When the committee for the preservation of the White House asked me to renovate the Rose Garden, I felt a deep responsibility to respect tradition and to preserve its grandeur for future generations." She then ties this into a teaser for her memoir, saying, "In my book, I share the story of this journey, how my team and I worked to safeguard this piece of our history."

Like most of the comments on Melania's tweets, this comment section was fairly split. While some expressed excitement for the memoir's early October release, there was plenty of backlash. "Grifting is your family game," one commenter wrote. Another called out her choice to claim she was "respecting tradition." "TOTAL LACK of RESPECT for the First Ladies that have come before you," they wrote, adding, "You trumps just can't HELP DESTROYING things that matter to other people can you." Another echoed this notion, asking, "If you truly felt that responsibility then why the hell did you completely DESTROY the White House rose garden?" It clearly won't be easy for Melania to win people over on this particular topic, so it's surprising that she would re-open this can of worms to promote her book. Ultimately, though, when it comes to book sales, all press may be good press.