Melania Trump renovates White House Rose Garden in time for RNC speech; faces backlash on Twitter

Melania Trump recently unveiled the renovated White House Rose Garden, finished just in time for her speech at the Republican National Convention. However, not many are happy with the renovations and have been taking to Twitter to criticise the first lady of the United States.

Melania Trump, who will speak from the Rose Garden at the Oval Office during the RNC on Tuesday, recently finished a three-week renovation of the iconic garden. This is the first time the White House is being used for a political convention, even though Federal rules prohibit its usage for expressly political events. US President Donald Trump will also deliver his speech from the office's South Lawn on Thursday night.

While announcing the renovation of the Rose Garden, being done in the spirit of its original 1962 design with private donations, Melania had said: "The very act of planting a garden involves hard work and hope in the possibility of a bright future...Protecting the historic integrity of the White House landscape is a considerable responsibility, and we will fulfill our duty as custodians of the public trust."

The details about the newly-renovated space became public after White House gave a tour to reporters on Saturday, but the new design did not go down with many. According to a report in the Associated Press, the flowers in the garden are largely pastels, a favourite of the FLOTUS, including taller white roses, which were in honour of the first papal visit to the White House by Pope John Paul II in 1979.

A diamond-like shape of boxwoods has also been added, while about a dozen crab apple trees planted by former first lady Jackie Kennedy have been removed and will be replanted elsewhere on the grounds. A seating area on the east side of the garden previously used by presidents for lunch and other meetings has also been removed and will be replaced by a yet-to-be-announced art installation.

Meanwhile, an approximately one metre-wide limestone walking path bordering the central lawn has also been added to the garden. Audiovisual, broadcasting, and other technical fixes have been made to the garden apart from making it more accessible for people with disabilities.

Melania herself also took to her Twitter account to share pictures of the renovated garden, writing: "Thank you to all who helped renew this iconic & truly gorgeous space. However, the 50-year-old has been facing backlash and harsh reviews on the post.

A critic of the new design wrote: It's just hideous. Unless you were going for an early mausoleum esthetic," while another commented: "Melania modeled the Rose Garden after the Trump family. Cold and empty."

Another criticised the timing of the renovations writing: "Melania Trump delivering her RNC convention speech from the newly renovated White House Rose Garden- against a backdrop of 170,000 American deaths - is stunningly out of touch."

Meanwhile, some compared Melania to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before the French Revolution, whose lavish spending on her private garden 'Le Bosquet de la Reine' was blamed for the country's financial crisis and the subsequent revolution.

"I wonder if Marie Antoinette redid the gardens at Versailles when the revolution was brewing," one user tweeted, while another wrote, "Comparing Melania to Marie Antoinette is unfair to Marie Antoinette."