Donald Trump has been remodeling Washington, D.C., with the confidence of a man who believes every historic site needs his personal touch.
The president’s projects have sparked court fights, preservation concerns, and accusations that he is treating public landmarks like personal property.
Trump now faces accusations of ripping apart another treasured D.C. location beloved by locals.
This time, Trump’s golf ambitions have brought chainsaws to East Potomac Park.
The Washington Post’s informal count report found more than 60 trees removed from the historic public park.
Photos circulated by preservation groups show freshly cut stumps across East Potomac Golf Links.
Advocates warn the removals foreshadow sweeping changes to the historic course.
The Department of the Interior dismissed concerns, calling the work “routine maintenance” targeting hazardous or declining trees.
Officials refused to state whether Trump’s high-profile championship-style course redesign prompted the tree removal.
“The contractor is claiming he was hired to get rid of diseased trees,” one person wrote on Threads. “Anybody with a wrinkled brain knows he’s lying.”
RTEC Tree Care, the company removing trees at East Potomac Golf course, has issued a statement after online uproar and protests over tree removal last week. https://t.co/FOcRCKhs9W pic.twitter.com/9crg46oeG7
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) August 30, 2026
Another added, “My heart is breaking. He is destroying everything good about this country.”
Trump announced in June that East Potomac would become “one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World,” slating construction to begin Sept. 1.
Yet, days ahead of that date, the public has received no final design, construction schedule or cost estimates —nor have federal agencies completed the required environmental reviews or historic consultations promised in federal court.
Plans photographed during Trump’s tour showed the existing 36-hole, three-course facility consolidated into a single 18-hole championship venue.
The proposed layout would expand the course onto roughly 50 acres of public parkland currently used for picnicking, fishing, and cycling, while eliminating the historic miniature golf course and a riverside bicycle trail.
“Omg he did,” said one shocked observer. Another said, “That’s infuriating! I didn’t know he already did it. I thought he needed approval. We don’t care about a dumb golf course.”
I think the Cherry Trees are thing he's done to D.C.
— Lovable Liberal and his Old English sheepdog (@DougWahl1) August 30, 2026
A future administration can restore the Rose Garden and East Wing to what it was before. But you can restore trees that have been chopped down.
Who is upset by what he has done to our nation's beauty? pic.twitter.com/YbaAiB1C7C
“Who gives a s—t, that doesn’t justify destroying property that belongs to The People,” one critic wrote.
Despite critics, only one healthy cherry tree near the 14th green has been removed.
The cherry trees are also an important part of Washington’s cultural identity and tourism economy. Japan gifted the city its famous trees more than a century ago.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival now attracts approximately 1.5 million visitors annually and generates more than $200 million in direct visitor spending, according to DC.gov.
“The cherry blossom were the best part of DC! I loved watching the trees bloom after winter! Sad to see them being destroyed,” one person wrote.
Another asked, “So f—k the National Cherry Blossom Festival? How is this not unAmerican as hell? Why is Trump allowed to do absolutely anything without any repercussions? Trump is America’s Cancer.”
The controversy comes one year after former President Barack Obama accidentally walked into a family’s cherry blossom photo at the Tidal Basin.
Obama later apologized to young siblings Belle and Preston, writing, “My bad for stepping into the shot.”
Their family kept the photograph for a holiday card.
WHEN AMERICA WAS GREAT 🇺🇸 President Obama went viral after accidentally walking into the background of a family's cherry blossom photoshoot at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.
— Gianl1974 (@Gianl1974) July 10, 2026
Portia Moore was entirely focused on keeping her two young toddlers, Preston and Belle, safely away… pic.twitter.com/0NIlp55gYm
Obama photobombed the cherry blossoms. But Trump’s administration is facing backlash for turning them into stumps.
“We didnt cut those down even after Pearl Harbor,” one social media user wrote. Still one critic demanded action.
“He keeps being allowed to get away with this destruction! Who is responsible for stopping him? GOP stop wimping around this criminal and curtail his insane activities,” the person wrote.
The uproar over East Potomac is only the latest in a string of controversial structural changes to federal landmarks.
Critics point to the total demolition of the White House East Wing for a massive ballroom, replacing the iconic Rose Garden lawn with stone pavers, ongoing legal fights over adding Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center facade, and plans for a towering triumphal arch near the National Mall.
Preservationists are now challenging the East Potomac project in federal court. They argue it violates an 1897 law that reserved the park for the “recreation and pleasure of the people.”
Trump calls his proposal a championship makeover. Critics say his ambitions are clearing away another piece of public history.
