Donald Trump will only accept one narrative about his presidential legacy — that he outperformed his predecessors.
The 80-year-old president will be remembered in history books as the oldest president to take the oath of office, but that one accomplishment won’t appease his ego.
He has to have more acclaim, more proof of his name etched into stone, and his influence forever seen on some of the nation’s most famous landmarks.
His current obsession is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump poured $14.65 million into renovating the monument this spring.
The tourist site reopened to the public in June with the promise of being more beautiful than ever, and then it turned green within a matter of days.
Trump won’t accept critics’ theories that ignoring the pool’s need for upgraded pipes and filtration systems and his quick algae fix, gallons of hydrogen peroxide poured into the water, is at the root of his problems.
‘The Truth Is Under There’: Trump Accused of Hiding More Than His Name as Kennedy Center Tarps Stay Up Weeks After Judge’s Removal Order
‘Disaster’: Trump’s Reflecting Pool Nightmare Takes Another Turn, as the Algae Controversy Leads to an Even More Embarrassing Discovery
He says his efforts remedy problems he inherited.
During a June 22 Oval Office meeting, reporters asked him to explain why the pool’s timeline shifted from weeks to months and the budget ballooned from $1 million to just under $15 million.
View on Threads
The president offered a three-word answer: “Barack Hussein Obama. Have you ever heard of him?” Trump sarcastically asked. “He spent two years and over $100 million on trying to fix it. You know what happened to it? Never even opened.”
Former President Barack Obama allocated $34 million to fix preexisting issues. This forced the city to close the pool between 2010 and 2012. Trump then blamed Obama for using “putrid” river water in the basin, which “destroyed the whole thing… him and [Joe] Biden spent $147 million.”
He boasted about beating the timeline: “We spent about ten. They were gonna spend four years. I spent two months, maybe less, and I have a better product.”
The Republican leader reiterated that vandals used knives to cut the basin’s thick layers of paint, promising to present proof in court.
But the public fixated on the fact that Trump continues to blame Obama for his unraveling presidency. One person said it was “absolutely sickening” to hear the Nobel Peace Prize recipient used as the scapegoat.
Two more IG Threads users commented, “Trump utters the magic words of ‘Barack Hussein Obama’ to lay cover for his EVER increasing INEPTITUDE!!!” and “President Obama truly lives rent free in his head. The jealousy is epic!”
Additionally, a Trump heckler jokingly wondered, “Did Obama put on top secret scuba gear that made him invisible so he could cut the material? Put Grandpa to bed.”
Someone else explained why Trump often skirts accountability.
They typed, “He’s insane or paranoid…why else would he target Obama every time something goes wrong. Certain he knows Obama is revered, respected…loved…when he’s just ridiculed, loathed…hated. On this exchange alone questions should be getting asked in his handler’s circle.”
Critics also noticed Trump’s alarming inaccuracies. On X, a user tweeted, “Now I see why his supporters are always deflecting and moving goalposts, they learned it from him!”
A second commenter wrote, “I know he’s always lied, but I feel like his lies get more egregious as his health deteriorates.”
For months, the public has speculated that Trump exhibits serious signs of health issues; some suspect he has suffered multiple strokes and received a dementia diagnosis.
Social media users also corrected Trump’s “putrid” water claim. The assertion states, “You are so racist, always highlighting the Hussein.’ The potomac has been the source of the pool since the start. Hence the algae since the start.”
The pool’s primary water source is the Tidal Basin, which is fed from the Potomac River and treated before reaching the basin.
Trump boasted that workers used “swimming pool material” for the revamp and guaranteed an “American flag blue” appearance—before photos and videos revealed it looked like a swamp. Critics are calling the eyesore the “Deflecting Pool” and another stain on Trump’s legacy.
