The President’s Tree is Missing: Gift from Macron to Trump ‘ disappears’
A tree gifted to US president Donald Trump by French president Emmanuel Macron has disappeared.
The pair planted the sapling, taken from the site of a First World War battle in north- east France, during Mr Macron’s state visit to the US last week.
Mr Macrons aid the tree would be a reminder of “these ties that bind us ”. Howev- er, a photographer on Saturday took a picture of a yellow patch of grass on t he White House south lawn where the tree had stood.
The tree, a European sessile oak, came from the site of the Battle of Belleau Wood, which took place in the summer of 1918. Nearly 2,000 US soldiers died in the battle, on a site north- east of Paris.
Yet only four days after it was planted, the sapling has disappeared. There has been no official reason given for the sapling mystery, but there is speculation online about the tree’s fate.
French radio network Franceinfo quotes gardening site gerbaud. com, which says this type of oak is better planted in autumn, giving it time to grow deep roots “to face the drought of the following summer”.
“The tree maybe back in October ,” France info speculated.
Meanwhile, the Huffington Post, a liberal American news and opinion website and blog, quoted an unnamed official at the Elysée Palace, who said the tree is under quarantine.
The US Customs and Border Protection website says that foreign plants “intended for growing ( propagative) require a foreign phytosanitary certificate in advance” before being brought into the country.
The official reportedly said the tree is doing well.
Mr Mac ron’ s gift quickly became an internet sensation, with a photo of the two men shovelling earth onto the sapling while being watched by their wives quickly turning into a meme.
After planting the tree with Mr Trump, he tweeted :“100 years ago, American soldiers fought in France, in Belleau to defend our freedom.
“This oak tree( my gift to @ realdonaldtrump) will be a reminder at the White House of these ties that bind us.”