Trump's Rose Garden Club is a lavish new hangout for political allies
and business elites
[September 25, 2025]
By CHRIS MEGERIAN and DARLENE SUPERVILLE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington's hottest club has everything — Cabinet
secretaries, a new stone patio, food from the White House kitchen and
even a playlist curated by President Donald Trump.
But good luck getting a spot on the guest list. So far, only some of the
president's political allies, business executives and administration
officials have been invited.
In Trump's remake of the White House, the Rose Garden is now the Rose
Garden Club, with the iconic lawn outside the Oval Office transformed
into a taxpayer-supported imitation of the patio at Mar-a-Lago, the
president's private Florida resort.
Trump debuted the name during his first formal dinner there this month
and has included it on his official public schedule, too. He hosted
another event Wednesday evening with members of his Cabinet and senior
staff, according to an official who wasn't authorized to discuss the
matter publicly.
The event went off despite rain earlier in the evening. It was closed to
the press, but an aide posted video of the Marine Corps Silent Drill
Platoon performing on the South Lawn.
Presidents have always used invitations to the White House as a
prestigious reward for friends and supporters, but Trump’s rebranding of
an iconic area of the People’s House is unprecedented. It’s a fresh
example of how the billionaire Republican is replicating the gilded and
cloistered bubble of his private life inside the confines of the most
famous government housing in the country.
Trump has long understood the allure of exclusive spaces
In his first term, Trump had an eponymous hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue a
few blocks away from the White House and would go there often for
dinner. But the Trump family sold the property during President Joe
Biden's administration, leaving him without a uniquely Trump
establishment in the city in his second term.
Now he doesn’t need to go anywhere to enter his comfort zone and, in
fact, has been spending less time at his home on his golf course in
central New Jersey than he did in the first year of his first term.
To make the Rose Garden his own, Trump paved over the grass and set out
tables and chairs, complete with yellow-and-white striped umbrellas that
resemble the ones at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. He also
installed a speaker system to play his favorite tunes as he does in
Florida.
The project cost about $2 million and was paid for by private donations
to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit that works with the
National Park Service.
The events on the new White House patio so far have been official in
nature and are part of the long tradition of presidential entertaining
at the Executive Mansion, with military social aides on hand to escort
guests and the kitchen staff tasked to whip up the sustenance.
Trump, who rose to fame as a New York real estate executive, also ran
casinos and hotels, and he still loves playing host. He frequently
flatters his guests as brilliant and beautiful and relishes the ability
to gather the country’s most powerful people.
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Workers prepare the Rose Garden for a dinner to be hosted by
President Donald Trump, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex
Brandon, File)
So who pays for them?
All presidents invite family members and friends, lawmakers and
political allies, donors and business leaders and others to the
White House for reasons that range from bill signings and policy
announcements to picnics and lavish state dinners.
Trump is expected to entertain on the white marble patio, in the
shadow of the Washington Monument, as often as he can, the White
House said.
Taxpayers pick up the tab for some of the social events hosted by a
president, like the gathering for Republican lawmakers. Congress
gives the White House money to pay for events like these since the
Executive Mansion is also the president’s home.
Events of a more personal nature, like a birthday party or the
funeral service Trump held at the White House in 2020 for his
younger brother, Robert, would have to be paid for by the president
since it is not considered government, or the people’s, business.
Tech titans lose out to GOP lawmakers for club's opening
The official debut of the Rose Garden Club was supposed to be with
tech titans such as Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai
and Microsoft's Satya Nadella. However, rain forced Trump to move
the Sept. 4 event indoors to the ornate State Dining Room.
The honor of being first instead went to Republican lawmakers, who
gathered around two dozen tables under a clear night sky on Sept. 5.
Holding a microphone, Trump welcomed his guests by saying “you are
the first ones in this great place.” He described it as “a club” for
“people that can bring peace and success to our country.”
Table settings featured white tablecloths and yellow roses, plus a
place card that said, “The Rose Garden Club at the White House.”
Dinner started with a Rose Garden Salad that included tomatoes and
iceberg lettuce, followed by steak or chicken, or pasta primavera
for vegetarians. Chocolate cake was dessert.
Trump sat at a corner table with House Speaker Mike Johnson of
Louisiana, Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas and Sen. Dave McCormick of
Pennsylvania. Other lawmakers circulated by Trump’s table for photos
with the president. Some were posted online.
"It was a honor to be there,” wrote Rep. John McGuire of Virginia.
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