First Lady Melania Trump Welcomes, Inspects White House Christmas Tree: ‘It’s a Beautiful Tree!’

First lady Melania Trump gave her stamp of approval on the White House Christmas Tree at its arrival Monday, saying, “It’s a beautiful tree.”

Three coachmen and a pair of Clydesdales, named Logan and Ben, delivered the tree to the North Lawn driveway, as a military band played “O Christmas Tree.” The first lady, sporting a white coat, red gloves, and heels, inspected it.

“It’s a beautiful tree,” she said after taking a walk around the carriage. She spoke with the coachmen after her quick inspection.

The tree, a Concolor fir, stands more than 20 feet tall. It hails from Korson’s Tree Farms in Sidney, Michigan, which became the first Michigan Christmas tree farm that the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) has named “Grand Champion Growers” since 1985.

“This tree in the Blue Room will probably see at least 100,000 people,” White House Superintendent of Grounds Dale Haney said while picking out the tree in September. “It’s probably one of the most seen Christmas trees in the world.”

Rex Korson said he and his wife, Jessica, first entered the NCTA national tree contest in 2009.

“We’ve come close to winning before, but it just shows you how hard it is to win and how determined you have to be to compete,” he added.

Michigan is home to over 500 Christmas tree farms, where trees stand on some 33,000 acres of land, making the state the third biggest Christmas tree producer in the nation, per the Michigan Christmas Tree Association. The Wolverine State produces about 2 million trees annually, and farmers plant three trees for every one that they harvest.

Since 1965, the winners of the NCTA’s national tree contest have supplied the White House with its official Christmas Tree. President Franklin Pierce was the first commander in chief to have a White House Christmas tree back in 1856, and nearly 70 years later, President Calvin Coolidge began the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in 1923.