Why is Trump removing the Jackson Magnolia tree from the White House?

A nearly 200-year-old southern magnolia tree on the White House lawn is coming down

President Donald Trump announced the decision on Sunday, calling the tree a serious safety hazard

The towering southern magnolia sits just off the south portico, steps away from where presidents greet foreign leaders and board Marine One

Known as the Jackson Magnolia, the tree is widely believed to be the oldest on White House grounds

According to the National Park Service, legend holds that President Jackson planted it

in the early 1830s using seeds from his Tennessee home, the hermitage

The gesture was to honor his late wife, Rachel, who died just before he took office

Photographs showed magnolias near the South Portico as early as the 1860s

Over the years, the Jackson Magnolia became a visual hallmark of the White House landscape

appearing in state visit backdrops, presidential arrivals, even illustrations on the $20 bill

But the tree has been in decline for decades It lost its largest limb in 1994 when a small plane crashed onto the south lawn Since the 1980s specialists have used steel cables and telescoping poles to hold

its remaining structure in place. Interior decay has howled out much of the trunk, leaving only a thin

outer shell. Despite major pruning in 2017 and ongoing efforts to preserve it, arborists now say

the tree is too structurally compromised to remain safe. standing. President Trump said it will be replaced with a new magnolia and wood from the original

will be preserved for high and noble purposes. The announcement comes as part of broader changes to the

White House grounds. Earlier this year, President Trump proposed paving over parts of the rose garden

saying the grass doesn't hold up well during public events. The magnolia's removal closes a chapter

in White House history, one tied to the legacy and folklore of Andrew Jackson and the traditions

that have grown around it. For more unbiased updates, download the straight arrow news app or go to SAN.com