US President Donald Trump is reshaping the White House grounds, with its Rose Garden’s lawn having less roses and more white stone patio and statues of prominent American figures, in another sign of his sweeping renovation drive.The latest addition is a bronze statue of former President Thomas Jefferson, donated by Colorado sculptor George Lundeen. It joins statues of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin already displayed in the garden, along with a 14-foot bronze sculpture called “Freedom’s Charge”.The changes have transformed the historic garden into a space resembling the outdoor area at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. At least one of the statues was donated, while others are on loan from anonymous donors.Lundeen said he had sent the Jefferson sculpture to the White House hoping it could be displayed during celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. The statue arrived late, but Trump saw photographs of it and decided to place it in the Rose Garden.“I thought it would just be a real nice thing on the 250th for people to look at Thomas Jefferson as he was writing the Declaration of Independence,” Lundeen said.Trump’s changes to the Rose Garden are part of a much wider construction and renovation programme at the White House. The president has undertaken a gilded makeover of the Oval Office and is overseeing the construction of a ballroom and helipad on the south grounds.His administration is also pursuing projects beyond the White House, including a proposed National Garden of American Heroes near the National Mall, featuring statues of 250 Americans. Several preservation and cultural heritage groups have challenged the project in court.Trump’s White House has defended the renovations as “long-overdue and necessary”, saying the president’s efforts would ensure the complex is “properly glorified” and remains in excellent condition for generations.
