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French president gifts Trump with new 'friendship tree' after the first one dies

Emmanuel Macron confirmed the first tree, planted by both presidents on the South Lawn of the White House in April 2018, died in quarantine.
Image: U.S. President Trump welcomes French President Macron at the White House in Washington
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shovel dirt onto a freshly planted oak tree as first lady Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron watch on the South Lawn of the White House on April 23, 2018.Joshua Roberts / Reuters file

President Donald Trump is getting a new "friendship tree" after the first one he received as a gift from his French counterpart died in quarantine.

French President Emmanuel Macron revealed Tuesdaythat the European Sessile Oak tree he and Trump planted together on the South Lawn of the White House last April died, so he plans on gifting the Commander in Chief another one.

The two leaders were photographed on April 23, 2018, planting the tree outside the White House, but a few days later the sapling had vanished.

"It wasn't drama," Macron said Tuesday when asked about the tree during an interview with Swiss television channel RTS. "One shouldn't see symbols where there aren't. The symbol is that the it was planted together."

Macron's office said at the time that the tree was removed and put into isolation like any other plant or animal that is brought into the United States, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the oak tree needed to be quarantined so it could be inspected for pathogens like fungi. The oak was supposed to be in isolation for at least two years, according to the agency.