Logo

Now you tree it, now you don’t.

The oak sapling gifted to President Trump by French President Emmanuel Macron on his recent visit to the United States mysteriously vanished over the weekend, according to reports.

Press photographers snapping pictures of the South Lawn on Saturday noticed that the European sessile oak was nowhere to be found.

Just five days after the two world leaders gamely grabbed shovels to plant the sapling outside the White House, the only sign it had ever been there at all was a conspicuous patch of yellowed grass.

While the White House didn’t provide any answers about the plant’s disappearing act at first, they put out a statement Sunday saying: “In order to ensure the tree’s long-term survival it has been moved to a facility and will be replanted as soon as possible.”

Earlier reports had indicated that the oak may have been a victim of extreme vetting.

Citing an unnamed French government official, the Huffington Post’s French-language site reported that the sapling was put under temporary US Customs and Border Protection quarantine because it’s a non-native species.

According to the agency’s website, “certain plants and ANY plant parts intended for growing (propagative) require a foreign phytosanitary certificate in advance.”

Customs officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The sapling came from the site of the First World War’s Battle of Belleau Wood, where American and French soldiers fought side by side from June 1 to 26, 1918. Almost 2,000 US troops died fending off a German offensive there, and in so doing, saved Paris, some 30 miles away. The US Marine Corps lost more troops in that single battle than it had since it was created.

Macron tweeted the day after the planting, “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.”­

With wires

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy