While you'd expect the 45th President of the United States to stay in the headlines, you wouldn't expect them to dominate headlines with reports of his misguided thumb-war against the world writ large, a pursuit which hilariously culminated in the now-infamous term
"covfefe".
Certainly, as I have often joked: while little is known about
's exercise routine, it's safe to say that his thumbs have got a good workout since the 2016 Presidential election.
And Donald Trump's family haven't made it out of the spotlight either. Especially, his wife - the current First Lady of the United States,
. In fact, she's seriously irked people this time, after making the executive decision to give the most iconic of the White House trees, a 200-year-old magnolia, the chop.
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A tree that was planted in 1828 by former US President Andrew Jackson is being cut down, on orders from Melania Trump. But before all you virtuoso keyboard warriors take to Twitter, rest assured, it's only because it's structural integrity is in complete disrepair.
Officially known as the Jackson Magnolia, the tree is very prominent in pictures of the White House as it sits just to the right of the the famous towers past the second floor. And furthermore, the tree, which is the oldest on the White House grounds, has been
featured on the American $20 for upwards of 60 years.
The tree has sentimental value too,
President Andrew Jackson's wife died shortly after he was elected into office, and the tree was planted in homage to her memory, with the seed being taken from her favourite magnolia tree at their Tennessee home.
However, it's being cut down for a very good reason. According to official documents, the United States National Arboretum was brought in to analyse the tree's failing health. The report details:
"The overall architecture and structure of the tree is greatly compromised and the tree is completely dependent on the artificial support. Without the extensive cabling system, the tree would have fallen years ago.
Presently, and very concerning, the cabling system is failing on the east trunk, as a cable has pulled through the very thin layer of wood that remains. It is difficult to predict when and how many more will fail."
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While the tree will no longer be an integral part of the White House, efforts are being made to ensure that the wood from the Jackson Magnolia is preserved. Offshoots have been collected over the years, and have been growing in greenhouses ever since. Reports state that some have already grown to stand at 10 feet tall.
So while the final decision was made by the oft-controversial
, it was only decided after she had looked into all the information provided by specialists, and it was clearly the right thing to do. I guess that sometimes the Trump family are deserving of a little break.
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