See Trump's first public liftoff from the $6 million Lockheed-funded helipad built to protect the White House lawn

President Donald Trump took off from the new White House helipad aboard Marine One.

Joey Sussman/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters US presidents have boarded the Marine One helicopter from the White House South Lawn for decades.

The White House got a new granite helipad, funded by Lockheed Martin, bearing the presidential seal.

Trump said the helipad is to protect the grass on the South Lawn from the Marine One helicopters.

The White House has a new helipad on the South Lawn.

President Donald Trump took off in Marine One from the helipad after an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

Trump previously said the White House would receive the granite helipad, paid for by Sikorsky Aircraft — a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin — to support the new fleet of helicopters used as Marine One .

A Lockheed Martin spokesperson confirmed the contribution and told Business Insider it was being made to the National Park Service.

Trump previously said the permanent fixture would help protect the South Lawn's grass.

The newer helicopters from Sikorsky are about "two and a half times more powerful than the old ones," Trump said.

"When you land on the grass, it's not that the grass gets discolored.

It gets ripped out," he said.

The helipad bears the White House seal and cost between $5 million and $6 million.

"Sikorsky is paying for it.