Alabama official apologizes for chopping public park tree for Trump rally

An Alabama mayor’s chief of staff has apologized for cutting down a giant tree from a city park in Mobile so it could be used as a backdrop for President-elect Donald Trump’s “thank you” rally at a nearby football stadium.

Colby Cooper, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s top aide, admitted he was “overzealous” in fulfilling a request from Trump’s advance team ahead of Saturday’s event.

The 50-foot cedar tree was cut down at the city’s Public Safety Memorial Park on Friday and taken to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, placed behind the podium was decorated with Christmas ornaments.

“This is our last rally, our last stop,” Trump said in his speech Saturday. “This is where it all began. I just want to thank the people of Alabama and start by wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

Trump’s first major rally of his presidential campaign took place at the same stadium in Mobile in August 2015.

Cooper, who served as a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, initially touted the city’s ability to do “the impossible”: Locate and decorate a giant Christmas tree for Trump on short notice.

But the removal of the tree from a city park provoked outrage from some residents.

“Our city parks aren’t Christmas tree farms,” one woman wrote in an email to Stimpson. “An old growth tree from a city park for backdrop? Insane.”

The outcry led to Cooper’s apology.

“In an effort to make sure every detail was covered and the expectations of the president-elect’s team were exceeded, I became overzealous,” Cooper said in a statement. “I now know there are citizens who are upset and offended that a tree from a City park was used as part of the decorations for the event. I accept full responsibility for having this done. For this, I sincerely apologize. Going forward, I will be more sensitive to the spectrum of concerns regarding trees.”

A spokesperson for the Trump transition did not immediately return request for comment on the tree fiasco.

On Monday, Cooper tweeted that he plans to “make the Christmas tree situation right” by personally paying for three cedar trees to replace the one that was felled for Trump, as well as all of the ornaments used to decorate it. Cooper also claimed that the tree would be “repurposed,” though it’s unclear what that repurposing entails.

“Let’s focus on the GREAT momentum Mobile is experiencing,” Cooper added, and “the role the City is playing in improving the quality of life for its citizens.”