In January, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States (POTUS). As he settles into his second term, those analysing his every move have noticed an interesting development inside the White House.
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The White House is a historical building in its own right. It has been the president’s main residence since 1800. Each president has decorated the building to their liking. However, in the last 50 years, there was always one constant within the White House: the Swedish Ivy plant.
Keen observers have noticed that President Trump has replaced the ivy plant that has been sitting on the fireplace’s mantle in the Oval Office.
President Donald Trump replaces the historic Swedish Ivy plant
As mentioned above, President Donald Trump has replaced the longstanding Swedish Ivy plant that has been living in the Oval Office for over 50 years. In its place sits five gleaming decorative vessels, seemingly made of gold, as per The Washington Post.
The plant was still in the Oval Office in January when President Trump started his second term. Jamie Kirkpatrick, a Maryland writer, noticed the missing ivy in February when the POTUS met with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The missing plant was reported on March 8 by Mother Jones with the headline:
The Country’s Most Famous Houseplant Is Missing
According to The Independent, the five gold artefacts are from the White House collection and include a bronze basket made in France around 1815, handed to the Nixon administration in 1973.
The two artefacts beside the basket are urns acquired by President James Monroe in 1817. The last two (the outermost artefacts) come from the Eisenhower administration and are usually stationed in the Vermeil Room.
The history of the Swedish Ivy plant
As reported by The Washington Post, the Swedish Ivy plant was originally given to President Kennedy by the then-Irish Ambassador to the United States. President Clinton talked about the plant’s history back in 2000.
He explained that the plant was an ‘enduring sign of the affection between our two people’. Since then, the plant has grown and taken several shapes with every president residing in the White House.
In the Oval Office of the President on the mantel, there is a beautiful ivy plant which has been there for almost 40 years now. It was given to President Kennedy by the then-Irish Ambassador to the United States as an enduring sign of the affection between our two people.
However, it has not been determined whether the plant actually dates back to President Kennedy as 'we haven’t been able to find evidence of the plant’s origins' according to Abigail Malangone, an archivist at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
Moreover, clippings of the plant have been given as gifts to several people, who then grow the ivy in their homes. They, in turn, also offer clippings to friends and family. This means that many people across the country have a piece of the historical plant.
The Clintons’ decorator, Kaki Hockersmith, said in an interview that the plant has been in the Oval Office ‘forever’ and staff ‘can’t touch it’.
Among those who have been offered clippings of the Swedish Ivy plant are White House staff, given as a parting gift. Another recipient is sonography student Kayla Benker, who was given a clipping after an internship in 2011 in the Obama photo office.
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Sources used:
The Washington Post: ‘The growing legend of the missing Oval Office ivy’
The Independent: ‘Trump has removed one thing from the Oval Office that has been there for 50 years. But why?’
