DISCLAIMER: This article was first published on September 9, 2025
On Friday, Donald Trump hosted what he called the Rose Garden Club, a private dinner on the newly renovated patio. He welcomed his guests by saying, “We have worked very hard to bring it to fruition and not an easy situation, but it’s something that I think we’re all going to enjoy for many, many years to come. It’s a tremendous place.”
The event itself came as a surprise. The White House had not announced the club in advance. Guests sat down to Rose Garden salad before choosing between New York Strip steak, thyme-roasted chicken, or vegetarian pasta. Dessert was a fudge-filled cake. White House spokesman Davis Ingle praised the setting, calling it “the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world.”
Trump used the dinner to show off his updates to the garden. He explained that renovations were needed after years of wear. “Every time we’d have a press conference, women in particular were sinking deep into the mud and at some point I said, you know, it’s time to make the change. We picked a great stone and we have a great speaker system,” he said.
The work began in April and was part of a larger series of changes. Trump has already redecorated the Oval Office with gold décor, added two 100-foot flagpoles to the White House grounds, and even floated the idea of a $200 million ballroom near the East Wing.
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The new garden carried Trump’s signature style. Yellow umbrellas gave the patio a look similar to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort—music from a powerful new sound system played in the background.
In recent weeks, songs like A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum and Are You Lonesome Tonight? by Elvis Presley had been heard drifting outside the White House.
However, despite the décor and music, what drew the most attention was a photo of Trump at the dinner, where he appeared pale and drained. People online noticed, with some comparing him to Ted Kennedy before his death and others describing his eyes as unusual and unsettling.
odd, he looks like Ted Kennedy did just before he died.
— charlotte -{RESCUE NEW COLLEGE} pelha (@pelha) September 6, 2025
It’s the eyes for me. They look … off.
— 🍁 Road Trippin’ Musician 🍁 (@YourDadLovedIt) September 6, 2025
He’s trying way too hard here
— kim hodges 🇺🇸 (@klhodges13) September 6, 2025
Oh yeah, that dude isn’t lasting much longer.
Just pure evil keeping him above ground now
— Drew (@StumpDrew) September 6, 2025
Doesn’t look like him!
— Zen S (@zenderbender) September 6, 2025
This photo is from the “new Rose Garden” soiree. Trump looks terrible – stiff, puffy, lumpy, blotchy, sweaty, ungainly, pale, hunched and lopsided. He’s quite unwell. pic.twitter.com/GUsUAiJj1f
— The Shallow State (@OurShallowState) September 6, 2025
I’d say he has dead eyes like a shark, but that’s a bit unfair on sharks.
— Barney Burrell Author (@burrell_barney) September 6, 2025
The person behind him is making sure the chair doesn’t topple over. pic.twitter.com/rfK14QX5zX
— Outspoken™️ (@Out5p0ken) September 6, 2025
He should be in a Hospice Care facility
— Michael Banach (@m1db) September 6, 2025
Why won’t he just die? He is a menace to society.
— Shari Taylor (@sharitaylor2020.bsky.social) (@sharitaylor2020) September 6, 2025
Trump looks like Grandpa on a day pass from the nursing home.
— Robin (@Rob995957) September 6, 2025
I hope he’s very unwell.
— Hugh Blaza (@hughblaza) September 6, 2025
It’s getting harder and harder to hide his dowagers hump.
— KEW 🇺🇦💪🕊🌻 (@wait_kew) September 6, 2025
He looks like he’s 90
— Mary K Warga 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@pooker94) September 6, 2025
Stimulants are wearing off.
— originalscout (@originalscout11) September 6, 2025
Look at the difference in his cheeks. The right one is sunken
— michaelnorth (@michaelnorth) September 6, 2025
Featured image via X screengrab
