Did Trump order that weeping willows be cut down outside Kennedy Center?

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            <p class="fact_check_info_description">In sworn testimony delivered in April 2026, Matthew Floca, the vice president of facilities for the Kennedy Center, clarified that the property took down its weeping willows simply "because they were falling down." He also verified that Trump played no role in making that choice.</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>Starting in late August and carrying through early September 2026, a widespread </span><a href="https://x.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/2094757971511194046"><span>assertion</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/9WBX-5GV7"><span>archived</span></a><span>) gained traction online, alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump commanded the elimination of the weeping willow trees located outside Washington, D.C.'s John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.</span></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span>"Trump has cut down the iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center," stated Adam Parkhomenko, a former advisor to Hillary Clinton, in a post </span><a href="https://x.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/2094757971511194046"><span>shared on X</span></a><span>.</span></p>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter_tweet_display_box">
    <p lang="en" dir="ltr">The iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center have been cut down by Trump. <a href="https://t.co/5bZ0AnaPDx">pic.twitter.com/5bZ0AnaPDx</a></p>
    <p>— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) <a href="https://x.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/2094757971511194046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2026</a></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>Parallel narratives similarly spread across </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reallyamerican/posts/pfbid02P8HNn6qz7VbwZJvgmMoyKKFADFnUv7JB8dDewEtKjiSLCLT6wYvSmCQmBUx654yJl"><span>Facebook</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/TND9-USWM"><span>archived</span></a><span>), </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwFCyLlNav/"><span>Instagram</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/7SZE-8NGQ"><span>archived</span></a><span>), </span><a href="https://www.threads.com/@eileenfalahee/post/DctltN0lSko/i-am-devastated-the-historic-weeping-willows-at-the-kennedy-center-our-nations/"><span>Threads</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/FQ7S-TTQX"><span>archived</span></a><span>), </span><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/schultziepie.bsky.social/post/3muex3rh4xc2s"><span>Bluesky</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/MH8B-VF7U"><span>archived</span></a><span>), and </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/1w49ub1/trump_has_killed_all_of_the_memorial_trees_at_the/"><span>Reddit</span></a><span> (</span><a href="https://perma.cc/T8D8-BPBN"><span>archived</span></a><span>). Inquiries poured in from readers asking us to look into the matter, with one asking straightforwardly, "Did Trump have the willow trees at the JFK center cut down?"</span></p>

<p dir="ltr">That was entirely inaccurate. <a href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/news-room/press-release-landing-page/kennedy-center-announces-new-additions-to-its-executive-team/">Matthew Floca</a>, the facility's vice president of operations, testified under oath in April 2026 that the institution removed the willows strictly <a href="https://media.snopes.com/2026/09/matthew_floca_testimony.pdf">because they were failing</a> (Page 27). This testimony emerged as part of a legal challenge meant to halt Trump's <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115997939705121174">proposed updates</a> to the facility.</p>

<p dir="ltr">During his <a href="https://media.snopes.com/2026/09/matthew_floca_testimony.pdf">testimony</a>, Floca explained that the removal was driven by routine "maintenance needs" (Page 28) and noted that officials were actively "contemplating" what vegetation might take their place. Furthermore, Floca verified that he had never consulted Trump—who serves as the <a href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/about-us/leadership/trustees/">chairman</a> of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees—regarding the willows or their potential replacements (Page 28).</p>

<p dir="ltr">Consequently, we designate the accusation that Trump commanded the removal of the center's weeping willows as false. Management confirmed that upkeep requirements necessitated taking the trees down, and they verified that Trump bore no responsibility for the choice.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><span>We reached out to the Kennedy Center to pinpoint the exact removal date and determine future landscaping plans, but did not hear back prior to publication. Meanwhile, a representative for the White House directed all related inquiries straight back to the center.</span></p>

<p dir="ltr">Drawing on information from a Kennedy Center representative, *Newsweek* <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/claim-trump-cut-down-weeping-willow-trees-outside-kennedy-center-debunked-12393047?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Facebook&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawUE7r1wZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVlZRDc4TlpwQWdkQlN1WHVzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe-ukkStMQQvVY847IjrfEVvNGG2aMT0odbfJRTj3EyKboDV3pzedH9GFg7y4_aem_IDn5X0JArRExbysotiQZQw#Echobox=1788342303">noted</a> that the willows actually came down in October 2025. Photographic evidence from <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/vigil-for-conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-in-washington-dc/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjU6bmV3c21sX1JDMjBTR0FDU09DNQ">Reuters</a> captured the willows still standing in September 2025, while a geo-tagged <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/VwQH3qoSrZ84LYqm8">Google image</a> from October demonstrated that at least one tree had already been felled, aligning with this timeline.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The local Washington, D.C. blog PoPville <a href="https://www.popville.com/2025/10/dc-trees-cut-kennedy-center-willow-trees-gone/">documented</a> the disappearance of the weeping willows on October 14, 2025. Though raw image metadata was unavailable for verification, there is no indication these records were fabricated.</p>

<h2><span>What We Know About the Trees</span></h2>

<p dir="ltr">Floca told a D.C. district court on April 29, 2026, that the facility's willows had severely deteriorated in health. He <a href="https://media.snopes.com/2026/09/matthew_floca_testimony.pdf">detailed</a> (Page 28):</p>

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    <p>Ninety percent of the trees were decaying and every time there was a heavy wind or rain a tree would fall down. If you walk around the center at that time, you would see limbs falling and trees falling down.</p>
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<p>Asked if he conversed with the center's chairman (Trump) regarding future landscaping choices, Floca <a href="https://media.snopes.com/2026/09/matthew_floca_testimony.pdf">responded</a> (Page 28):</p>

<blockquote>
    <p>We haven't specifically talked about the weeping willows or the replacement. I think that a weeping cherry tree would be perfect. But we are going to come up with a complete landscape — a comprehensive landscape plan that doesn't only talk to the planters and the willow trees, and that will be part of the plan, the replacement.</p>
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<p>As of this writing, final decisions regarding the replacement species remained undecided. Attorney Abbe David Lowell previously <a href="https://media.snopes.com/2026/09/matthew_floca_testimony.pdf">asserted</a> that the original willows symbolized "the grief of the nation" following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Page 27).</p>

<p><span>In March 2026, Trump </span><a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116223100937937927"><span>shared</span></a><span> digital concepts for a refreshed Kennedy Center that swapped out the traditional willows for pink- or orange-leafed foliage. While weeping willows naturally </span><a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/66012/salix-babylonica/details#:~:text=H6-,Colour%20%26%20Scent,-Season"><span>shift shades</span></a><span> during autumn, their leaves turn golden yellow rather than the vibrant orange, red, or pink depicted in the president's artwork, pointing toward a preference for entirely new plant varieties.</span></p>

<p>Floca's legal deposition formed part of an ongoing <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72528661/dc-preservation-league-v-board-of-trustees-of-the-john-f-kennedy-center/">lawsuit</a> filed by preservationist organizations seeking to block the board from executing <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115997939705121174">proposed updates</a> without independent oversight. Ultimately, a federal judge <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72528661/45/dc-preservation-league-v-board-of-trustees-of-the-john-f-kennedy-center/">rejected</a> the groups' motion for a preliminary injunction on May 29, allowing work to proceed.</p>

<p>Even so, the center remained fully <a href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/">accessible</a> to the public, despite an earlier declaration from Trump suggesting the location might shut down entirely by July 4, 2026, for renovations.</p>

<p>For further reading, we have previously examined whether Trump similarly cleared <a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/09/01/trump-dc-cherry-trees/">dozens of cherry trees</a> in the nation's capital to accommodate a golf project.</p>