Yet another of President Donald Trump’s vanity projects has left a nasty scar on an iconic Washington, D.C. landmark.
The White House South Lawn, the featured site of the president’s 80th birthday bash, housed the 600-ton metal behemoth dubbed “The Claw” for Trump’s birthday fight night, which ruined the historically pristine green lawn in the process.
As can be seen in aerial photos captured on Wednesday, workers have arrived to repair the grass damaged by the UFC Freedom 250 event held on June 14.
Large mats can be seen covering most of the South Lawn ahead of its planned resodding, though patches of discolored grass and dirt peek out along the edges of the mats.
ScottsMiracle-Gro, an Ohio-based private company run by Trump supporter CEO James Hagedorn, promised $1 million in “a combination of monetary and product support,” including resodding plans, to the restoration efforts.
“The president knows a lot about grass. I think his history and past with golf courses,” Nate Baxter, the company’s COO, told Fox Business on June 13. “It was really interesting to watch our tour scientists and President Trump talk through each of these.”
UFC President and longtime Trump ally Dana White initially estimated the cost of the grass replacement at $700,000 in a statement to Sports Business Journal in October. The UFC had originally planned to cover the lawn restoration bill before ScottsMiracle-Gro offered to pick up the tab.
“This was one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary,“ White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously told the Daily Beast when asked whether the South Lawn would be restored before July 4. ”Anyone who finds a problem with that clearly suffers from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The nearby Ellipse, which housed a UFC fan event on Trump’s octogenarian day, also sustained similar damage from the fight-night extravaganza, as seen in photos taken earlier this week.
Trump’s other vanity projects, such as his botched Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation and his demolition of the White House East Wing to make way for his $600 million ballroom, have irrevocably changed the historic People’s House and its surrounding landmarks.
The president tried—and failed—to plaster his name on the historic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. After a federal judge ordered the removal of his name from the premises, a permanent tarp has been erected in front of the venue’s facade to hide his humiliating loss.
The disaster caused by the Reflecting Pool’s failed renovation has also infuriated the president, who has blamed its algal bloom and cut-up basin on alleged “leftist” vandals. However, government documents obtained by The New York Times contradict the president’s claims of vandalism.
