President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday brawl at the White House has added a massive eyesore to an iconic public park.
Aerial images of the White House grounds and the Ellipse, which lies between President’s Park and the Washington Monument, show that the park’s lawn has been completely destroyed.
The site was the location of a UFC viewing party on the night of Trump’s birthday, with thousands of people gathering there to watch the proceedings, despite the heat and thunderstorms that beset the capital that day.
The image of the wrecked lawn was circulating online Friday evening, alongside many posts about Trump’s failed ‘restoration’ of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The UFC and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company have pledged to cover the costs of repairing the South Lawn, though it’s not clear if that restoration would also include the Ellipse, as it is not part of the South Lawn.
Trump himself reportedly selected a proprietary blend of eight grasses for the South Lawn.
The Ellipse is a 52-acre park within the larger President’s Park, that is also a true mathematical ellipse.
In typical Trump fashion, the octogenarian president took to Truth Social to boast about his D.C. achievements late Friday night.
“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, D.C. Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became President, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States,” he wrote.
The Ellipse wasn’t mentioned, but it is a place Trump knows well.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump gave a speech at the Ellipse, urging the thousands of people who had gathered there to protest the legitimate results of the 2020 election and march on the United States Capitol to “stop the steal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
