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Viral Misinformation

No, Trump Didn't Chop Down Dozens of DC's Historic Cherry Trees

Viral posts say Trump's golf course renovation destroyed dozens of Washington's famous Japanese cherry trees. Of the roughly 60 trees actually removed at East Potomac Park, fact-checkers confirmed exactly one was a cherry tree.

MISLEADING ≈

FILED SEP 6, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 6, 2026 · 3 SOURCES

The Claim

Social media posts in late August and early September 2026 claimed Trump's administration "illegally chopped down SIXTY historic cherry trees" at Washington's East Potomac Park to expand a golf course, with some versions inflating the count past 100 and alleging the removals defied a court order [1][2].

The posts followed Trump's own Truth Social announcement that renovation work at the East Potomac Golf Links would begin September 1, and spread as reports confirmed tree-clearing activity at the park in the preceding weeks [1][2].

The Evidence

Only one cherry tree was confirmed removed. Roughly 60 trees total came down at East Potomac Park in late August, but FactCheck.org and Media Bias/Fact Check both found just one was a cherry tree — alongside two large sycamores — not the "dozens" claimed online [1][2].

Alex Rosen, spokesman for the preservation group Save East Po, told FactCheck.org he could confirm "1 cherry tree was cut down," directly contradicting the viral multiples claim [1].

The Interior Department and National Park Service described the work as routine maintenance — removing "hazardous, dying, declining or invasive trees" — and the contractor, RTEC Treecare, stated it "has not removed any cherry trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course" beyond what NPS arborists selected [1][2].

The claim isn't invented from nothing. A federal lawsuit challenging the golf course project is active, and a judge had reportedly required officials to give advance notice before removing more than 10 trees — which is likely why any tree removal at the park draws intense scrutiny [2].

Who's Spreading It, and the Bigger Picture

Nearly 4,000 cherry trees grow across Washington's East and West Potomac Parks, but fewer than 100 of the original trees gifted by Japan in the early 1900s remain — a scarcity that makes any cherry tree removal newsworthy and easy to inflate into a bigger story [2].

The exaggerated framing spread widely enough that both FactCheck.org and Media Bias/Fact Check published corrections within days of each other, while at least one entertainment outlet ran with the inflated premise that Trump was "cutting down the historic cherry blossom trees gifted by Japan" [3].

The Verdict

MISLEADING. Tree removal at East Potomac Park is real and disputed in active litigation, but the viral claim that Trump destroyed "dozens" or "over 100" historic cherry trees overstates the confirmed reality roughly sixty-fold — fact-checkers found exactly one cherry tree came down [1][2].

SOURCES · 3

  1. [1]*FactCheck.org* - Social Media Posts Push False Claim of Trump Chopping Down 60 Cherry Trees

    92/100 · factcheck.org

  2. [2]*Media Bias/Fact Check* - Fact vs. Fiction: Did Trump Cut Down Dozens of D.C. Cherry Trees for Golf Course Renovations?

    72/100 · mediabiasfactcheck.com

  3. [3]*The Mary Sue* - More Than 60 Trees Come Down as Trump Eyes a Major D.C. Golf Course Makeover

    72/100 · themarysue.com

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