トランプ氏、樹齢２００年の木を「ＭＡＧＡノリア」に植え替え

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ドナルド・トランプ米大統領は８日、ホワイトハウスで最近伐採された樹齢約２００年のモクレンの木（サザン・マグノリア）に代わる苗木を植樹した。ホワイトハウスは、トランプ氏のスローガン「Ｍａｋｅ Ａｍｅｒｉｃａ Ｇｒｅａｔ Ａｇａｉｎ（米国を再び偉大に）」とマグノリアをかけて、この新しい苗木を「ＭＡＧＡ（マガ）ノリア」と呼んでいる。（写真は米ワシントンのホワイトハウスの敷地内で伐採される樹齢２００年近いマグノリアの木）
　この木は、１９世紀にアンドリュー・ジャクソン大統領が植えたとされ、「ジャクソン・マグノリア」として親しまれていたが、７日、安全上の理由から伐採された。
　ホワイトハウスはＸ（旧ツイッター）への投稿で、トランプ氏が「歴史的なジャクソン・マグノリアの直系にあたるＭＡＧＡノリアの苗木をホワイトハウスに植えた」と説明した。
　報道陣は植樹式への立ち入りを許可されなかったが、ホワイトハウスは、トランプ氏が金メッキのシャベルで地面を掘り、庭師とともにポーズをとる様子を収めた動画をＳＮＳに投稿している。
　国立公園局によれば、伐採されたマグノリアはホワイトハウス敷地内で最も古い木だった。
　トランプ氏は３月、自身のＳＮＳ「トゥルース・ソーシャル」でマグノリアの伐採について言及し、「残念ながら、すべてのものには終わりが来る」と投稿。状態が悪く、ホワイトハウスの入り口にあるため「取り除かざるを得なかった」と説明し、木材の一部は保存され、「崇高な目的のために活用される可能性がある」と述べていた。
　樹木医も、この木には構造的に倒壊するリスクがあると指摘していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/04/09-17:58）

US President Donald Trump planted a new sapling on Tuesday to replace a nearly 200-year-old tree at the White House -- dubbing it a MAGAnolia after his Make America Great Again slogan.
The historic Jackson Magnolia, believed to have been planted by president Andrew Jackson in the 19th century, was chopped down for safety reasons on Monday.
The tree had shaded the White House's South Portico for the majority of US presidencies. But it had been in bad shape since a small plane landed on the South Lawn and crashed into it in 1994, killing the pilot.
The White House said in a post on X that Trump had planted a new MAGAnolia sapling at the White House -- a direct descendant of the historic Jackson Magnolia.'
Reporters were not given access to the planting ceremony but the White House posted a video on social media of Trump digging into the ground with a gold-plated shovel and posing with a gardener.
The new, 12-year-old sapling is descended from the original tree which, according to tradition, Jackson planted to honor his wife, who died just before his swearing-in in 1829.
The old tree was itself purportedly a sapling brought from his home in Tennessee.
The tree was the oldest on the White House grounds, according to the National Park Service, which notes that starting in the 1870s most presidents began planting their own commemorative trees.
The bad news is that everything must come to an end, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in March as he announced that the tree would have to be chopped down.
He said the magnolia was in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed.
Trump added that some of its wood would be preserved and may be used for other high and noble purposes.
A report by arborists said the tree could cause harm because of a risk of structural failure.
The White House gardens already made headlines this year when Trump said he was planning to pave over the grass of the famed Rose Garden, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.