The National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., toppled over on Tuesday, prompting a blizzard of jokes and memes on social media at President Joe Biden‘s expense.
A powerful gust of wind knocked down the tree placed in the Ellipse near the White House in the early afternoon, according to the National Park Service, but crews managed to pick it back up with a crane within a couple hours.
The National Christmas Tree Has Fallen pic.twitter.com/1SjgoPBtkn
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 28, 2023
“The National Park Service is currently evaluating the National Christmas Tree, which fell over on Nov. 28 during a strong wind gust this afternoon,” the agency said in a statement. “As the saying goes, ‘the show must go on,’ and the NPS and our event partners are looking at all possibilities to ensure a successful event this year.” NPS later said workers had replaced a “snapped” cable and declared the tree was standing upright as of 6 p.m. local time.
Though the lighting ceremony is still expected to take place with Biden on Thursday, and other National Christmas Trees have fallen in the past, X users made the most of the temporary spectacle — with many decking the halls with Biden zingers.
“National Christmas tree falls DOWN. Perfectly summing up Joe Biden’s presidency,” said the House Judiciary GOP. In another post, the account shared a GIF of Biden tripping while walking up the stairs to board Air Force One.
pic.twitter.com/pldxKr8GRC https://t.co/mz0Leg26dn
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) November 28, 2023
“Guess it will have to use the short stairs up Air Force One,” quipped Newsmax host Jenn Pellegrino.
“The wind just knocked over the National Christmas tree. Crazy stuff but it’s nice to see something falling at the White House besides Biden,” joked comedian and radio host Jimmy Failla.
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“If the administration was depicted by a Christmas Tree…. This pretty much sums up the entire Biden Presidency,” added Eric Trump, one of former President Donald Trump’s sons. Others remarked, “Biden’s America,” opined that the imagery was “fitting” for his administration, or made references to the “war on Christmas.”
NPS spokeswoman Chelsea Sullivan told local news outlet WTOP that the tree, which is a 40-foot Norway spruce from Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, is the first “cut tree” used as the National Christmas Tree in 50 years after one planted in 2021 got removed due to a fungal infection.
Meanwhile, the Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony took place on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Winds did not knock down that tree, but some pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to disrupt the event.