A North Texas company installed two massive flagpoles on the White House lawn last week, marking the most significant exterior modification to the building since President Donald Trump’s return to office.
U.S. Flag and Flagpole Supply in Plano installed two 30.5-meter flagpoles on the White House’s North and South Lawns on Wednesday. The flagpoles, personally funded and donated by Trump, have sparked concerns about the safety of Presidential helicopter landings.
Company owner Ginger Kean said Eric Trump contacted her two months ago to arrange the project. The President covered the cost, which he told reporters was $100,000. During the installation, Trump met with Kean on the South Lawn.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to have that opportunity,” Kean said. “He did come over and talk with us. I don’t think we can ever top this. This one will always be a great memory.”
Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, warned that the South Lawn flagpole could pose a risk for Marine One landings.
“I see a problem for where they’re supposed to land the helicopter — because this is right on the South Lawn, and I’m not really sure,” Mulvaney said, per Newsweek. “I imagine they considered this, they’d be landing someplace else… but I’m looking at this going, as the Chief of Staff, who’s in charge of military operations at the White House, ‘where are we landing the helicopter without creating an increased risk for the President of the United States?’ I don’t know the answer to that yet.”
Trump called the nearly 90-foot flagpoles “the best poles anywhere in the country or in the world” during the installation ceremony, describing them as “tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality.” He noted their stability, extending nine feet underground with internal ropes to avoid noise, unlike those at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
“This is the real deal,” he said, per the Associated Press. “This is the best you can get. There’s nothing like this.”
The North Lawn flagpole stands close to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump, a former New York real estate developer, emphasized his passion for construction, saying, “I love construction. I know it better than anybody.” He watched the South Lawn installation, saluting as the American flag was raised.
On Truth Social, he wrote, “It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns. It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place. … Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!”
Previously, the White House flew the U.S. flag from a pole atop the roof of the structure.
The flagpoles are part of broader White House changes, including paving over the Rose Garden’s grass, adding gold accents and portraits to the Oval Office, and plans for a new ballroom that will align the building’s aesthetic with Mar-a-Lago.
Trump said the flagpole idea originated in his first term but was delayed due to political pressures.
“I had it, but, you know, you guys were after me. I said I had to focus. I was the hunted. And now I’m the hunter. There’s a big difference,” he told reporters, per Newsweek.