West Palm, Fla. • A different kind of tree-trimming took place at the White House on Wednesday when part of a historic magnolia tree on the south grounds was cut off because it had become a safety risk, a spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump said.
The nearly 200-year-old tree was cut back while President Donald Trump and his family are in Florida for the holidays.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said earlier in the week that Mrs. Trump had given her OK for a large portion of the tree to be cut back after she reviewed reports about the magnolia’s condition prepared by government experts and explored options with White House staff.