THIS IS HUGE: Bill Clinton just said Congress made a mistake by not protesting Trump’s Rose Garden makeover, and Fox News put it on screen
Former President Bill Clinton took aim at Donald Trump’s architectural modifications to the White House grounds, quipping during a campaign stop that Congress erred by not formally objecting to a controversial makeover that removed the historic Rose Garden lawn in favor of stone pavers.
Speaking Tuesday in Hollywood, Florida, at a campaign event for independent gubernatorial candidate David Jolly, Clinton sharply criticized the overhaul of the storied grounds. According to NBC News, Clinton remarked that lawmakers should have intervened when Trump turned the historic outdoor space “into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”
The quip gained wider circulation after Fox & Friends Weekend displayed the comment on-screen with the chyron reading, “Bill Clinton rips Trump’s treatment of White House.”
A Historic Transformation of White House Grounds
The redesign marks the most extensive physical alteration to the Rose Garden since First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and landscape designer Rachel Lambert Mellon established its iconic layout in 1962—a design that stood for over six decades as the backdrop for presidential bill signings, major diplomatic announcements, and state receptions.
Under the recent renovation, the expansive central green lawn was excavated and replaced with stone pavers, creating an open-air patio lined with yellow-and-white striped umbrellas. Observers and critics have widely compared the aesthetic to the poolside terraces of Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. Trump has also referred to the revamped terrace as the “Rose Garden Club,” recently unveiling it during a private dinner for roughly 100 Republican lawmakers and senior administration officials.
Trump defended the renovation during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, framing the overhaul as a functional necessity:
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Drainage and Weather Concerns: Trump asserted that outdoor events frequently left the turf waterlogged, making the ground difficult to navigate.
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Footwear Accommodations: He explained that the hardscape surface prevents attendees wearing high heels from sinking into muddy soil during formal functions.
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Aesthetic Reviews: The former president insisted the renovated terrace has garnered “great reviews” from guests and visitors.
Clinton’s remarks highlight an ongoing cultural and architectural debate over White House preservation, contrasting preservationist reverence for Kennedy-era traditions with the administration’s commercial resort aesthetic.
