CNN Posts Lengthy Report Defending Melania Trump’s Rose Garden — With Only Anonymous Sources

CNN published a lengthy article defending former First Lady Melania Trump’s renovation of the White House Rose Garden that featured only anonymous quotes — even from gardening experts.

Mrs. Trump’s renovation of the Rose Garden came under fire anew this week — a year after it was completed — when NBC News historian Michael Beschloss marked the occasion by tweeting “Evisceration of White House Rose Garden was completed a year ago this month, and here was the grim result—decades of American history made to disappear,” with a photo.

Evisceration of White House Rose Garden was completed a year ago this month, and here was the grim result—decades of American history made to disappear: @dougmillsnyt pic.twitter.com/78OqjkoOPt

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 7, 2021

The Office of Melania Trump fired back that Beschloss “has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy. The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian.”

.@BeschlossDC has proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy. The Rose Garden is graced with a healthy & colorful blossoming of roses. His misleading information is dishonorable & he should never be trusted as a professional historian. https://t.co/LU243SANF1 pic.twitter.com/PuVOSjxx5w

— Office of Melania Trump (@OfficeofMelania) August 8, 2021

On Saturday, CNN tried to settle the argument with a deeply-reported 1,300-word article on the dustup that described the uproar last year and how it symbolized the polarized views of Mrs. Trump.

The article quoted “a person familiar with the Rose Garden’s renovation” explaining what seems to be anodyne gardening advice:

“The first year it’s sleeping, the second year it’s creeping, and the third year it’s leaping. Everyone knows that adage,” the person told CNN of the tempered expectation process, which those in the gardening world know to be true.

This person, who like three other people interviewed for this story, requested anonymity in order to discuss Washington’s most controversial plot of greenspace.

“There is no way with the work that was done it could be — ‘ta-da! Here you go!’,” said this person. “The entire garden had to be ripped out to be rebuilt.”

And two other sources requested anonymity to rattle off Rose Garden stats and facts. If the uproar over the garden illustrated the polarization that surrounds Melania Trump, the failure of a single gardener to defend her by name underscores it.