Trump Plugs Scotts Miracle-Gro After Free White House Lawn Job — Ethics Experts Alarmed

President Trump used an Oval Office appearance Monday to publicly endorse Scotts Miracle-Gro, the Ohio-based lawn and garden giant, after the company replaced the White House South Lawn at no cost to the government. Trump told reporters he accepted the free offer after a friend connected him with the company, saying simply: he heard it was free, and took it. Scotts had previously announced in June a $1 million contribution to the National Park Service to restore the South Lawn following a UFC event held on Trump's 80th birthday. Trump also claimed the company would soon be installing new turf across 700 acres of Washington, DC parks.

The endorsement fits a clear pattern: Trump has repeatedly praised companies that have done something favorable for him or aligned with his political allies. He staged a Tesla showcase at the White House while pledging to buy one in support of Elon Musk. He publicly urged Americans to buy Dell computers shortly after Michael Dell pledged to fund Trump Accounts for children. He also credited Walmart's price cuts to White House pressure — a claim the retailer never confirmed.

Ethics experts say the behavior is far outside historical norms. Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said the Bush and Obama administrations strictly prohibited any such arrangements — a contractor doing White House work for free in exchange for a presidential plug would have been a flat-out no. Painter said the first Trump term broke that norm and the current administration has pushed it much further.

The stakes go beyond optics. Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, warned that favors from private companies eventually become implicit invoices, and that skipping competitive bidding processes undermines public confidence that government decisions are made on merit rather than personal connections. Notably, Scotts Miracle-Gro donated $500,000 to a pro-Trump PAC in 2024 — a detail that sharpens questions about whether the relationship between the company and the administration is purely philanthropic.