Security risk: Trump wants to cut down historic magnolia tree in front of the White House

Astrid Lund - Betty MacDonald fan club organizer: "This should be prevented at all costs! I'm afraid that one day Donald will have the White House torn down. He's capable of anything!!!!!!"------------------------------------- AFP Security risk: Trump wants to cut down historic magnolia tree in front of the White House AFP • 41 million • 1 minute read End of historic Jackson Magnolia in front of the White House: US President Trump has announced that he will have one of the most famous trees in the US cut down for security reasons. The nearly 200-year-old tree must be removed for security reasons, he explained. End of historic Jackson Magnolia in front of the White House: US President Donald Trump has announced that he will have one of the most famous trees in the US cut down for security reasons. "The bad news is that this all has to come to an end," Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social on Sunday. The tree known as the Jackson Magnolia on the south side of the White House is "in terrible condition." There is "a very dangerous security risk, especially at the entrance to the White House," Trump continued. Therefore, the nearly 200-year-old tree "must be removed now." Trump added that the historic magnolia will be replaced with "another, very beautiful tree." However, its wood will be preserved and can thus be used for other "noble purposes." The striking tree has dominated the view of the south side of the White House for almost 200 years. Experts have spent years working hard to save the ailing magnolia, which has outlasted several U.S. presidents. According to tradition, it was planted by then-U.S. President Andrew Jackson in memory of his wife, who died shortly before her husband's inauguration in 1829. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the magnolia tree is the oldest tree on the White House grounds.