Donald Trump Banishes White House Contractor After Spotting ‘Huge Gash’ in New Rose Garden Patio: ‘It Was Deep and Nasty’

NEED TO KNOW

• Donald Trump slammed a White House contractor in an Aug. 30 Truth Social post after discovering a “gash” in the limestone of the White House Rose Garden

• The president also shared security footage of the people whom he claims left the “deep and nasty” imperfection, and vowed “never” to let the contractor return to the White House

• The post comes as Donald and first lady Melania Trump finish their controversial redesign of the historic rose garden

President Donald Trump is slamming the “stupid people” who left a “gash” in the limestone of the recently redone White House Rose Garden.

The president, 79, shared a rant about the “huge” imperfection in a lengthy Aug. 30 post on Truth Social — along with security footage of the alleged moment it appeared in the stone patio. He has since fired the contractor in charge of the group that caused the “gash,” he said in the post, and vowed “never” to let them return to the White House.

“I used, at the White House, the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere,” Donald began in the post. “Surfaces are very important to me as a Builder. As everyone knows, I built many GREAT Buildings, and other things, over the years. At the White House, I am very proud of the beautiful stonework we did in the Rose Garden, in this case, using limestone plus.”

“The Rose Garden is completed, and far more beautiful than anyone ever had in mind when it was conceived of, decades ago,” he continued, before recalling the moment he discovered the flaw in the newly finished patio.

Wrote Donald: “Three days ago, while admiring the stonework, I happened to notice a huge gash in the limestone that extended more than 25 yards long. It was deep and nasty! I started yelling, ‘Who did this, and I want to find out now!’ ”

While yelling this, he then clarified, he “didn’t say this in a nice manner.”

“I wondered, ‘Was it vandalism or, was it stupidity?’ Lo and behold, because of the fact that we’ve installed the finest security equipment anywhere, they brought back the stupid people, with their boss watching (in sunglasses!),” the president continued, referring to the events in the surveillance footage he attached to the post.

“It was a subcontractor that was installing heavy landscaping on a steel cart that was broken and tilting badly, with it rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone,” he said. “I love and respect great workers and contractors, but something like this should never happen. Now, I’ll replace the stone, charge the contractor, and never let that contractor work at the White House again.”

Before signing off the post, he wrote, “But how great is the video equipment?” and did a final victory lap: “We caught them, cold,” he added of the now-banned employees.

The 40-second video Donald attached to his post shows two of the employees wheeling a plant around the garden in a cart as another used a leaf blower. As they rounded a corner, the cart fell off the stone for a moment, getting stuck before they lifted it back out and continued on. The boss, as identified by Donald, appeared later in the footage, also holding a leaf blower.

It is unclear where exactly the “gash” is based on the video itself.

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When renovations on the White House Rose Garden began in early June, a White House official described the new construction as a “restoration” and told PEOPLE that Donald, as well as first lady Melania Trump, “have deep respect for the history of the White House and for the Rose Garden.”

“This restoration to the Rose Garden preserves the beauty of the space and builds on the work done in 2020,” the official said, referring to Melania’s headline-making (and controversial) redesign of the historic space, “with a focus on enhancing practical use and guest experience for those attending special events.”

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