Melania’s red Christmas tress are being stripped of their artificial cranberries by THIEVES in the White House East Wing
- First lady Melania Trump’s cranberry Christmas trees have been a major draw this holiday season for visitors flocking to the White House
- More than 40 of the topiary trees line the colonnade that connects the East Entrance of the White House to the East Garden Room.
- They’re so popular that visitors have been breaking off the cranberry-adorned branches and pocketing them as mementos
- More than 20,000 people had come as of Tuesday for open houses and holiday tours, according to the first lady’s office
First lady Melania Trump’s cranberry Christmas trees have been a major draw this holiday season for visitors flocking to the White House for unaccompanied tours of the East Wing.
But the first lady’s bright, red trees, which have inspired scores of Internet memes, have also attracted thieves, sources told DailyMail.com.
Visitors have been breaking off the artificial cranberry-adorned branches and pocketing them as mementos.
More than 40 of the topiary trees line the colonnade that connects the East Entrance of the White House to the East Garden Room. The first lady unveiled the decorations the Monday after Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.
Visitors have been breaking off the cranberry-adorned branches on Melania Trump’s trees and pocketing them as mementos. Fallen branches from the trees can be seen here on the ground
More than 40 of the topiary trees line the colonnade that connects the East Entrance of the White House to the East Garden Room
Cranberry Christmas trees have been a major draw this holiday season for visitors flocking to the White House for unaccompanied tours of the East Wing
Thousands of people a day, booking up to three months in advance during the busy holiday season, have come to the White House each morning since for timed tours – with the trees getting their own fans posing for selfies
Thousands of people a day, booking up to three months in advance during the busy holiday season, have come to the White House each morning since for timed tours.
More than 20,000 people had come as of Tuesday for open houses and holiday tours, according to the first lady’s office.
The president and first lady also hosted some two dozen holiday parties for Members of Congress, administration officials, service members and friends of the president this season.
Every year the holiday decorations are a target for daring visitors looking for the perfect souvenir from their visit to the federal building that doubles as the first family’s residence and the president’s official workspace.
But many rooms are blocked off by ropelines that allow visitors to look but not enter famed spaces like the Blue Room and Green Room via the Cross Hall and walk the outer edge of the East Room and State Dining Room before exiting through the North Portico.
Melania’s signature ‘Be Best’ ornaments and pencil wreaths, which might otherwise be the most popular objects to be pilfered are all safely behind the ropelines that keep wandering tourists out of the historical sites.
The ropes come down during holiday receptions, however, allowing visitors to admire the decorations bearing the motto for Melania’s platform close up.
All of the holiday decor undergoes regular maintenance, as such, including the trees, the first lady’s office said.
Melania’s cranberry trees were compared this year to the red-robed handmaids from the dystopian Netflix hit ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ based on the Margaret Atwood book of the same name
First lady’s bright, red trees have inspired scores of Internet memes and snarky comments this season
Twins from the Stanley Kubrick film ‘The Shining’ also popped up in memes of the trees
Melania Trump’s artificial cranberry trees are some of the only decorations that are in grabbing distance and do not attract as much scrutiny from Secret Service agents guarding the presidential mansion as rooms that are filled with historical artifacts.
Last year, the first lady staged snowy white trees through the corridor, leading to Game of Throne-themed jokes that ‘Winter is Coming’ after the White House featured them in an artistic photo of the former fashion model.
Her cranberry trees were compared this year to the red-robed handmaids from the dystopian Netflix hit ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ based on the Margaret Atwood book of the same name.
The twins from the Stanley Kubrick film ‘The Shining’ also popped up in memes of the first lady’s trees.
Traditional forest green Christmas trees are also scattered across the East Wing, which the first lady designed around the theme ‘America’s Treasures’ out of a desire to capture the spirit of American patriotism.
In the Grand Foyer and Cross Hall, the White House said in a release that 14,000 red ornaments had been hung from 29 trees.
The first lady chose red as the predominant color for this year’s decorations because it is a symbol of valor and bravery, the White House said.