Donald Trump needs a new story to explain his failed renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The president began draining the National Mall “swamp” weeks after his Independence Day bash littered it with debris.
The scheduled cleanup required 4 million gallons of water pumped from the monument. Photos of the receding water began to circulate on social media on July 13.
Many of the images showed a long pump extending from the center of the nearly bone-dry basin. Some areas showed trails of dirt, pieces of cardboard, presumably fallout from fireworks, and other litter.
One X post showcased two park workers operating equipment to clean the green water filling the pool.
Another image showed a mound of waste, long tubing, and mud.
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A reaction read, “He probably used that same faulty equipment to fill the reflecting pool.”
Someone else quipped, “If that’s supposed to be sealant they really didn’t do a good job sealing the sides. If it’s supposed to just be paint it sure didn’t hold color well.”
But there was one consistent question about the process that everyone seemed to be asking: Where was the proof that vandals sabotaged Trump’s restoration project?
Trump spent a reported $16 million replacing old sealant joints and painting the basin “America flag blue” this spring. The landmark was closed for two months; it reopened in June.
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However, barricades went back up as the White House scrambled to explain why large sheets of blue paint were floating in the pool and why the water had become murky and overpopulated by algae.
A similar scene unfolded after his renovation of the Meridian Hill Park fountain, only the water took on a rusty, yellow-hued color.
The Republican politician blames “vandals” and “sick people” for the pool. During a June Oval Office meeting, he claimed, “We have a, I think, 290-300-foot slit right through it, probably a box cutter or knife of some kind. We had people lifting up the basin.”
Detractors believe shoddy work and gallons of hydrogen peroxide that were poured into the water to clear up are the algae area the real culprits.
An X user who visited the pool wrote, “I’m here at the Reflecting Pool and crews are almost done draining all of the water … no ‘350 foot’ gash found from my vantage point,” adding, “Lots of dirt and grime though.”
The pile-on included, “Waiting for Trump to say the cut is invisible” to “No sign of American flag blue” and “You won’t see one because trump is lying to pass his failed project off on someone else. Just like the vandals who made it.”
Others who did not fall for Trump’s deranged blame game commented, “Of course there’s no gash. There never was. It was a trump lie” and “It’s all a hoax. Just wait for the cover-up. It’s his MO. Make a mess, cover it up. So sick of this crap. Sick!”
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A closer look at the dry pool did, however, remind people of the stunt Trump pulled days after the basin was freshly repainted.
That individual said, “But I do see what looks like tire tracks.” Video of Trump’s motorcade driving down the pool resurfaced as he launched a hunt for saboteurs in June.
Trump hoped to distract people from the disaster by posting images of the pool filled with water, reflecting a flyover of F-35 jets. The post was published at 9:19 a.m. on July 13 during “in-town pool call time.”
Four hours later, he was in front of the White House to promote the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix showcase.
The residence is currently undergoing renovations as crews work to revamp the North Portico columns. A tarp depicting pillars was put up to hide the work in progress from onlookers.
