Trump moves to honor himself with bizarre and self-promoting park 'side project': insiders

President Donald Trump has worked over the past several months on a bizarre “side project” aimed at honoring himself at one of Washington, D.C.’s most iconic public parks, two insiders revealed to The Washington Post.

As revealed by the Post in its report published on Sunday, the project would be to ensure that Lafayette Square – which sits less than 400 feet north of the White House – has exactly 47 trees in honor of Trump being the 47th president, with the trees all being maple trees, the president’s favorite.

“The park has historically contained several dozen trees, although some have been taken out during renovations,” the Post’s report reads. “It’s unclear how many additional trees Trump would plant to get to 47 and whether he would remove any existing trees as part of his effort.”

Trump appeared to tease the project earlier this month when on June 3, he said in the Oval Office that before July 4th, “you’ll see something that’s incredible” at Lafayette Square. According to insiders who spoke with the Post, however, “that’s not likely to happen,” the Post reported, paraphrasing the insiders’ own comments.

“The park is not on target to open until at least August,” the Post’s report reads.

Trump has claimed that he personally paid millions of dollars for Lafayette Square’s renovations, but has yet to provide proof. As recently as Friday, Trump was exposed for using taxpayer dollars to pay for White House renovations he had previously claimed he personally paid for.