President Donald Trump moved quickly to clean up the mess made at his precious Reflecting Pool.
Last week, Trump claimed the space near the National Mall was “almost finished,” after hiring more no-bid contractors for repairs.
He blamed the initial damage on vandals despite candid snapshots of his team ripping up a coat of “American flag blue” coloring. Now, fresh images tell a much uglier story.
The claim came after months of construction headaches and setbacks surrounding the nearly $20 million project.
Local patrons and social media shared photos of Trump’s latest vanity project as it takes another hit.
In late August, Trump claimed that the pool was “almost completely fixed.”
Yet new images show damage from more than the powerful storms that swept through Washington, D.C., leaving the area battered.
Snapshots from this weekend show fallen fencing, trees, muddy water, and debris surrounding the Reflecting Pool.
Trump wasted no time sending his crew back out to clean up the mess.
The fence is back up at the Reflecting Pool is back up as the regime continues to try to fix the mess they made pic.twitter.com/5KBqPaNFlW
— Joe Flood (@joeflood) September 8, 2026
The Interior Department awarded politically linked firms multi-million-dollar contracts in April without competitive bidding.
Trump wanted the project finished by July 4 for his “Freedom 250” celebrations. But by June, the fast-tracked makeover was already being called a fiasco.
Contractors added the “American flag blue” coloring he requested and overhauled the water system, but both modifications failed.
The blue coating began to peel off and float to the surface as algae blooms turned the pool a murky green.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to paint the pool’s floor, while Green Water Solutions was awarded $1.7 million to install a new water-purification system.
According to government data, the administration granted an additional $2.7 million to American Ag Energy to repair and maintain the water supply and irrigation systems.
Total costs for the Reflecting Pool renovations have reached nearly $20 million.
American Ag Energy CEO Richard Rosen provided a statement to NBC News regarding the company’s role in the ongoing project.
The Harvard-educated engineer insisted that the administration told him the seven-figure contract was based “on merit.”
Even so, Rosen would not even confirm that the $2.7 million would be enough to complete the task. He told the outlet, “I don’t believe in anything until I actually see it work.”
News of the latest multi-million-dollar increase in funding for Trump’s Reflecting Pool makeover set off the MAGA leader’s critics online.
Some called Trump “pathetic” for rushing to hide the damage from what his team did not prepare for.
“Trump is not an engineer and had no idea what the pool needed. The people with whom he contracted had no idea. Nor did the next group. Trump will never make it happen,” noted one person.
A second individual said, “It should be called the Trump Cesspool until we get rid of him and restore it. @SecretaryBurgum is responsible for letting Trump run loose on it.”
Doug Burgum has repeatedly backed Trump’s “vandalism” claim about the Reflecting Pool despite judges ruling that the damage was caused by the flawed installation.
The president faced further fury when one commenter declared, “Sue him for the damage done.”
Another said, “All this crap in the water was just to stop citizens from proving his rages of THUGS, and 350-foot gashes WERE ALL LIES. He had unqualified people do a s—t rush…, and this is what we got.”
“He’s turned it into a slum district, just like HE and HIS DADDY did to their rental properties,” added a fifth person.
As American Ag Energy prepares to tackle the Reflecting Pool’s algae problem, a separate issue at the location happened this week.
The Interior Department erected fences around the pool in June after Trump accused vandals of the damage. The fencing was also said to be a safety measure for the July 4 fireworks display.
Trump’s high-profile vanity project has been an expensive, humiliating setback so far. Beyond the on-site botches, the Justice Department also failed to prosecute alleged vandals.
The often-stubborn president admitted to “some contractor error” after federal prosecutors had to drop all of the vandalism charges.
