Former First Lady Melania Trump lashed out at a prominent historian after he criticized her sense of style while noting that a year has passed since her controversial renovation of the White House Rose Garden.
It all started after Michael Beschloss, a historian specializing in the United States presidency who has written nine books on the presidency as an institution, called the renovation an "evisceration."
Beschloss wrote:
"Evisceration of White House Rose Garden was completed a year ago this month, and here was the grim result—decades of American history made to disappear."
Mrs. Trump soon fired back via a Twitter account that represents her official "office," though she does not currently hold any office since leaving the White House.
The account said Beschloss has "proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy."
Iflo accused him of posting "misleading information":
"@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy. The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian."
The former First Lady was abruptly criticized, with some social media users reviving their disdain for her decision to alter a once iconic area of the White House grounds.
The Trump White House revealed the newly renovated Rose Garden last August, which the then-First Lady explained was designed to "fulfill the dynamic needs of the modern presidency."
Her husband, former President Donald Trump, often held press conferences in the Rose Garden, so the space was made more amenable to television cameras and other materials required by the White House press corps.
In April, a petition began to circulate calling for First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to restore the Rose Garden to its former glory. The petition argues that the changes made by Mrs. Trump "ripped away" the legacy of ex-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who oversaw the last major renovation of the space with the help of horticulturalist and designer Rachel Lambert Mellon.
To date, the Biden White House has not responded to the petition.
