Donald Trump is racing to contain the fallout from a flashy Washington, D.C., makeover that has spiraled into an unexpected embarrassment.
The project was intended to serve as a lasting symbol of his vision for the nation’s capital.
But a series of setbacks, mounting criticism, and unwanted attention have transformed it into a political liability
The latest project is the $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that voters have called a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Crews spent two months painting the pool’s basin “American flag blue.”
Days later, the water was murky and filled with algae.
Park contractors poured large jugs of hydrogen peroxide into the pool to rid it of algae.
Passersby collected large chunks of the blue paint from the memorial, a visitor found a deceased duckling in the water.
Trump vented about the ordeal on Truth Social.
View on Threads
He defended his record on social media, writing:
“Of the MANY Statues and Fountains that we rebuilt, renovated, cleaned, and fixed, the only one that was Vandalized was the Reflecting Pool, which is being taken care of, ASAP!”
The misguided anger baffled countless people.
X users wrote that his “delusions are getting worse every day” and that the rant was “pure insanity.”
“He saw them pouring hydrogen peroxide in the pool to kill algae and believed that it was being vandalized….didn’t he? God, he did, didn’t he?,” a Threads user asked.
A second person on the platform mentioned, “It’s under constant surveillance. Show the vandals… I bet they work for the company that got the no bid contract his felon friend owns.”
A third person suggested an arrest but to the person who tore up the White House lawn for the cage match, “Please arrest the vandal who did this!!”
Trump greenlit two no-bid contracts, one to the company that painted the pool and a second the company tasked with installing a filtration system.
Someone else called Trump out for his hyperbole.
They said, “It was only a 250 foot gash the other day, pretty soon it will be a gash longer than the empire state building.”
Onlookers blamed Trump for contributing to the destruction after video showed his motorcade driving on the paint.
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“Yeah I don’t see how driving down the middle like that was the Flex they were going for. Felt like a Monster TrucK Show,” said one viewer.
The politician claimed the renovation would last for 50 years.
He previously touted the pool’s sealant: “If you had a knife, you can’t even cut it. So strong, so powerful; it’s like powerful rubber.”
Elsewhere in Trump’s post, he spoke about the mysterious desecration of a grassy area on the National Mall.
“He slammed the vandals in his post, writing:
“The beautiful new grass field has been destroyed with a gigantic 86 47 chemically carved into it (Probably inspired by Dirty Cop, James Comey!).”
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A detractor agreed that someone should face accountability—but pointed the finger at someone other than the anonymous enemy Trump wants to hunt.
That person tweeted, “Yes, and the vandal‘s name is Donald John Trump. But not just the pool. The Kennedy Center, the East Wing, the White House lawns, the Rose Garden. Lock him up.”
The White House is currently in a state of disrepair amid the construction of a new ballroom and the pending repairs to the South Lawn caused by Trump’s UFC 250 event.
