MaddowBlog-Trump eyes 47 trees in Lafayette Square to advance his self-glorification agenda

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Although the president presumably has other things to do, he’s taken to counting trees in the park across the street from the White House.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-47-trees-lafayette-square-self-glorification-agenda

The Trump administration announced in April that it would soon start offering a redesigned U.S. passport that would include a picture of Donald Trump, and late last week it followed through on those plans, unveiling a new passport that shows the president leaning forward against a backdrop of the Declaration of Independence. (The Republican’s signature is printed beneath it.)

Kim Jong Un thinks this is a bit much

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-26T21:13:07.786Z

By way of his social media platform, the president told the public that the passport says, “Welcome, but be good!” It suggested that Trump might not fully understand what a passport is — they’re given to Americans, not foreigners visiting the United States — though the use of his image and signature reflected his team’s broader goals about adding to the president’s self-glorification agenda.

It was not, however, the only recent evidence. The Washington Post reported:

President Donald Trump in recent months has cultivated a side project: counting the number of trees in a public park across the street from the White House.

Under Trump’s plans for Lafayette Square, which he has previously described as “the entrance to the White House,” the public park would feature 47 trees, matching his status as the nation’s 47th president, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the administration’s plans for the park. The trees would all be maples, a favorite of the president’s.

.....As for the scope of the increasingly weird Trump glorification campaign, this seems like a good time to update the broader list:

U.S. currency: Trump recently announced plans to add his signature to U.S. dollars — a first for a sitting American president — which is not to be confused with plans for a massive 3-inch commemorative gold coin featuring Trump’s face.

Renaming buildings: The president’s allies tried to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center and successfully added his name to the Institute of Peace. By some accounts, the president expects the proposed White House ballroom to bear his name too.

U.S. military: Plans to construct “Trump-class” battleships are underway, and the nation’s next-generation fighter jet is set to have an “F-47” designation in honor of him. (Trump is the nation’s 47th president.).....

The airport in Florida: In April, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport after Trump. (The president wanted to change the name of Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, D.C., to honor himself, and he was even prepared to execute an extortion scheme with Democratic officials to get his way. He had to settle for a much smaller airport.)

Banners: Giant fascistic banners featuring Trump’s face are currently covering the front of several government buildings, including the headquarters of the Labor, Agriculture and Justice departments. They were followed by the administration unveiling different banners around the nation’s capital that show the president in a hard hat alongside text that reads, “Thank you, President Trump.”....

International ambitions: Trump recently indicated that he wants and expects a statue to honor him in Venezuela. The Republican also said in January that it was “not too late” to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico (which he attempted to rename once already) to the “Gulf of Trump,” and he recently suggested the Strait of Hormuz should also be called the “Strait of Trump.”

Don Colossus: The president has extended his enthusiastic blessing to a 22-foot golden statue of himself, which has been given a prominent home at one of his golf clubs.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. WP Exclusive-Trump's vision for White House park: 47 trees to mark his presidency

The president has called Lafayette Square “the entrance to the White House.” Contractors have been renovating the park for months and are likely to miss Trump’s original goal of reopening before July 4.

Trump’s vision for White House park: 47 trees to mark his presidency

The president has called Lafayette Square “the entrance to the White House.” Contractors have been renovating the park for months and are likely to miss Trump’s original goal of reopening before July 4.

— BanmarNJ (@banmarnj.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T12:52:10.917Z

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/28/trump-wants-47-trees-mark-his-47th-presidency-white-house-park/

President Donald Trump in recent months has cultivated a side project: counting the number of trees in a public park across the street from the White House.

Under Trump’s plans for Lafayette Square, which he has previously described as “the entrance to the White House,” the public park would feature 47 trees, matching his status as the nation’s 47th president, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the administration’s plans for the park. The trees would all be maples, a favorite of the president’s.

The park has historically contained several dozen trees, although some have been taken out during renovations. It’s unclear how many additional trees Trump would plant to get to 47 and whether he would remove any existing trees as part of his effort. Officials cautioned that as with Trump’s other building and design projects — which they have acknowledged he has tended to micromanage — nothing is final until the president formally announces it.......

The president’s plans to memorialize his presidency in tree form, which have not previously been reported, represent one more way that Trump is seeking to put his imprint on the White House and its grounds. Trump has torn down the East Wing to begin building his planned ballroom, paved over the Rose Garden, installed new statues, and overhauled the Palm Room and the colonnade outside the West Wing, among other projects.....

“Regime Change,” a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, also describes a scene earlier this year in which Trump’s desk in the Oval Office contained printouts of maple trees he was ordering for the White House.

“I know how to buy good trees. Maples,” Trump told the reporters, according to the book.