First lady Melania Trump’s office announced Thursday afternoon that the White House was rescheduling the spring garden tours – by a day – due to planned protests on the National Mall.
‘This decision has been made out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of all within proximity to public demonstrations planned near the White House,’ a release said.
The first lady wasn’t expected to be on hand, though she did make an appearance in Washington this week, at a State Department awards ceremony.
Tours that were originally scheduled for Saturday will now be held Sunday, April 6. Ticket-holders for Sunday were told to stick to their original assigned time of entry.
Guests will tour the White House Rose Garden, former first lady Michelle Obama’s Kitchen Garden and other plantings on the South Lawn.
A series of Hands Off! rallies are being planned Saturday to push back on the policies of President Donald Trump and DOGE’s Elon Musk.
The largest rally will be held in Washington, D.C. with protesters told to gather at the Sylvan Theater – near the Washington Monument on the National Mall – starting at 11 a.m. The main program will begin at noon.
A spokesperson for the liberal organization MoveOn told Washingtonian that 12,500 are expected at the D.C. event.
First lady Melania Trump’s office nixed Saturday’s White House spring garden tours due to largescale protests set to take place on the National Mall. Ticket holders for Saturday are now being told to come Sunday
The White House is nixing spring garden tours on Saturday and moving them all to Sunday due to the protests expected in Washington, D.C. at the nearby National Mall. Guests will get to see the Rose Garden (pictured), Kitchen Garden and other plantings on the South Lawn
That kind of crowd would be audible from the White House’s South Lawn, where garden tour attendees circle the grounds.
The garden tours are offered to Americans twice annually.
The Hands Off! protests mark the first major backlash in the form of a demonstration aimed at Trump and Musk.
The website for the demonstrations called the protests ‘a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history.’
‘Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights – enabled by Congress every step of the way,’ the site said.
‘They want to strip America for parts -shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam,’ the site continued.
‘They’re handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich,’ it added.
Expected speakers at the Saturday event include Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Maxwell Frost, as well as the heads of several major left-leaning groups.
The Hands Off! protests are aimed at both President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts at DOGE. Organizers said that Trump and Musk are ‘orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights’
Raskin recently pushed that Trump had his eyes on Canada because Musk was a citizen there – and in turn could then become president of the United States.
Both Canada joining the U.S. and the South African born Musk becoming U.S. president are unlikely, with Musk’s political ascent stymied after this week’s Wisconsin judicial election where the conservative-leaning candidate lost.
Musk funneled millions into the race and make a personal appearance, complete with a cheese hat, only for his candidate to get pummeled.
A Politico story made waves this week, when the site reported that Trump told Cabinet members behind closed doors that Musk would be gone soon.
The White House pushed back and said that Musk was always only going to be a temporary government employee.
As a ‘special government employee,’ Musk is only allowed to work for the federal government for 130 days.