When John F Kennedy turned 46, his wife gave him a birthday present which gently mocked one of his greatest obsessions.

So proud was the Democratic president of the plush, recently installed lawn carpeting the White House Rose Garden, Jackie Kennedy handed him a basket of grass from his prized garden.

Now, more than 60 years after Mr Kennedy renovated the garden into an elegant space to entertain world leaders, there is not a blade left.

Donald Trump has ripped out the lawn which has been a backdrop to US history for decades, turning it into a patio space which has drawn comparisons to his Florida golf club Mar-a-Lago.

Gone is the perfectly manicured grass, in its place sits a blanket of white stone tiles, dotted with around a dozen tables complete with yellow umbrellas which appear almost identical to those on the swimming pool patio at his Florida estate.