Donald Trump’s Washington makeover has claimed another piece of history.
The president’s construction fever has already transformed gardens, threatened public parkland and left preservationists racing to court.
His latest landscaping controversy arrived only weeks after crews removed more than 60 trees from East Potomac Golf Links.
That work cleared the way for Trump’s proposed championship golf course.
Now, critics are looking across the capital and wondering whether any tree is safe.
Viral images have convinced many that historic weeping willow trees surrounding the Kennedy Center have recently been cut down.
The removal stripped away a living piece of the memorial’s original landscape and triggered another wave of public disbelief.
Roughly 40 willows once lined the center’s south and west terraces, according to LBC News.
Each was chosen for its mournful appearance after President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. Landscape architect Dan Kiley developed the grounds with Sasaki, Walker and Associates before the center opened in 1971.
Photographs circulating online show the perimeter is largely bare.
“I am devastated. The historic weeping willows at the Kennedy Center. our nation’s living memorial to President Kennedy..were cut down,” one Threads user wrote.
View on Threads
“How much of our history are we willing to watch disappear? This is heartbreaking. 8647!”
Former Democratic official Adam Parkhomenko is one of many who noted that “The iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center have been cut down by Trump” on X.
One critic asked, “What does he have against trees and flowers? He just wants concrete and granite!”
The timing made the removal harder to ignore. Some of the trees cut down in East Potomac Park were reportedly historic cherry blossoms. These trees were connected to trees gifted to the United States by Japan more than a century ago.
“Omfg! First the Cherry Blossoms and now the weeping willows!” one user wrote. “He hates animals and Nationally forests and water too! He wants everything dead!”
The iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center have been cut down by Trump. pic.twitter.com/5bZ0AnaPDx
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 1, 2026
“This is Beyond Outrageous! This cannot continue. Someone has got to stop this human wrecking ball,” one critic declared.
One person referred to someone at the president-appointed Department of Justice who said that eventually, if Trump does not get his way with the Kennedy Center, it may be torn down.
“I suppose that means the building is next,” another person warned.
Ironically, no one realized that the images were at least one year old. According to a White House Insider, “The Trump Administration did not cut down Willow Trees at the Kennedy Center (they died last year and have not been replaced).”
But that doesn’t change what Trump is currently doing to transform East Potomac’s 36-hole public golf facility into an 18-hole championship course.
His proposed 50-acre expansion could eliminate affordable recreation areas, trails, picnic grounds and fishing access.
The former developer argues that the course has dead grass, unsafe trees and unplayable greens. He also believes the rebuilt facility could host major tournaments.
Preservationists have fought the plan in court.
Their lawsuit argues that the redevelopment violates the 1897 congressional act that dedicated East Potomac Park to public recreation.
A judge allowed maintenance work but demanded stronger assurances about major renovations and tree removals. Critics say the recent cutting occurred before the larger project received final approval.
The controversy follows Trump’s decision to replace the White House Rose Garden lawn with stone. Historic magnolia trees were also removed.
Interestingly enough, he later admired flowers in Beijing and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for roses. Xi offered to send seeds. The irony practically watered itself.
For Washington residents, the pattern is difficult to miss. Trump keeps promising restoration. The land keeps losing trees.
