#reflecting-pool
6 entries with this tag
Trump Claims Vandals Cut a "350-Foot Gash" in the Reflecting Pool and Calls Them "Enemies of Our Country" — But the Government Won't Produce Any Records, the Gash Length Keeps Growing, a PolitiFact Reporter Couldn't Find It, and the Only Person Charged Is a 67-Year-Old Three-Time Olympian Who Touched a Piece of Already-Peeling Paint
As the Reflecting Pool renovation continues to unravel — algae, peeling paint, storm drains, $16+ million in costs — Trump has constructed an alternative explanation: vandals did it. He claims six people were arrested and seven cited for cutting "a 350-foot gash" in the sealant with "a very sharp knife or razors." He calls them "enemies" who "want to destroy our country." The problems: (1) The government has produced no records of these arrests — no complaints, no citations, no court filings. The New York Times reported "no records of arrests or citations have been produced to support the president's claims." (2) The alleged gash keeps growing: 150 feet, then 250, then 300, then 350. (3) A PolitiFact reporter visited the pool and saw no visible gash. Officers on-site could not point to it. (4) Interior Department staff noticed coating defects including bubbling and small holes in May — before any alleged vandalism. (5) The only confirmed arrest is David Carter Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time Olympic canoeist, who says he simply reached in to touch a piece of already-peeling paint during a bike ride and was held in a Park Police jail for five hours. (6) Pool experts say the polyurea coating is naturally chemical-resistant, and the tools Trump describes would cause only superficial damage. Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori: "My operating hypothesis is that this information is not being produced to the public because it would not support the president's claims." He compared it to a pattern where the D.C. U.S. attorney's office under Jeanine Pirro loudly publicizes cases that serve the narrative — like the "sandwich guy" arrest video — but goes silent when the facts don't cooperate. Khardori: "I don't believe him. I'll just be honest."
Trump's $14.7 Million "American Flag Blue" Paint Is Peeling Off the Reflecting Pool and Floating to the Surface — The Hydrogen Peroxide They Used May Have Caused It — Workers Are Draining Algae Water into Storm Drains — Tourists Are Grabbing Paint Chips as Souvenirs
Two weeks after the renovation was completed, the "American Flag Blue" coating applied to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is peeling off the bottom and floating to the surface. CNN observed a flap of blue material partially detached and rising toward the top. ABC News found a 3x3-foot section visibly detached and floating. A research paper by Polish chemical engineers found hydrogen peroxide is an active ingredient in paint-remover formulations — meaning the H2O2 workers poured in to kill algae may have caused the paint to peel off. Workers set up tubing to siphon algae-contaminated water directly into storm drains — but the pool's NPDES discharge permit was terminated in 2023, and discharges are supposed to go to the sanitary sewer, raising potential Clean Water Act violation questions. By Friday, tourists were reaching into the pool and grabbing peeling paint chips as souvenirs — taking pieces of the $14.7 million project home with them. Getty Images published photos showing rips in the sealant. The pool is being partially drained — again. Eddie Wood, owner of Atlantic Industrial Coatings, was shown photos and said they don't provide enough information "to tell exactly what that is." In April, Trump said he would clean up the pool "within a week" for "about $1 million." Three months and $16+ million later: the pool is green, the paint is peeling, workers are draining algae water into storm drains, tourists are collecting the debris, and the two miles of broken pipes remain unfixed.
A Second No-Bid Reflecting Pool Contract Went to a Trump Donor and Mar-a-Lago Neighbor Who Admitted to Bribing a Congressman
The New York Times reports that Greenwater Services, an Ohio firm, received a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install the "ozone nanobubbler" filtration system in the Reflecting Pool. The company is owned by the J.J. Cafaro Investment Trust, led by John J. Cafaro — a Trump donor, Mar-a-Lago neighbor, and a man Trump has called "a fantastic man." Cafaro admitted to providing an "unlawful gratuity" (a bribe) to former Rep. James Traficant and to committing perjury in federal court; he received probation while Traficant got eight years. The company listed Cafaro's Palm Beach mansion as its Florida address and his investment trust's phone number in Ohio lobbying records. The White House says Trump "was not involved" in selecting Greenwater. This is the second no-bid Reflecting Pool contract given to a Trump-connected firm — the first, $13.1 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, went to a company whose prior pool work was at Trump's golf club. Combined cost: nearly $15 million. The pool is green. The two miles of faulty pipes that cause the algae problem remain unfixed.
Trump Spent $13.1 Million Painting the Reflecting Pool "American Flag Blue" — It Turned Green with Algae in One Day. Workers Are Now Dumping Hydrogen Peroxide into It
Trump personally ordered the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool painted "American Flag Blue" ahead of America's 250th birthday. He drove across it during construction, bragged it would be "the great color," and posted a photo of the "very complex, but powerful, Dark Blue surface" with "CLEAN, BEAUTIFUL WATER." One day after refilling, it turned green with algae. Workers scooped clumps with nets. By Friday it was green again. The administration is now dumping gallon bottles of hydrogen peroxide into it and deploying a $1.7 million "ozone nanobubbler." One worker told CNN cleaning it could take "an entire lifetime." A pool specialist warned the darker blue paint absorbs more sunlight, raises water temperature, and accelerates algae growth — "it's a foregone conclusion." The $13.1 million no-bid contract went to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company whose only prior pool work was at the Trump National Golf Club, at a 20% profit margin (double the federal norm). They failed to seal the concrete twice. The pool is fed by the Tidal Basin — essentially Potomac swamp water. Social media users noted the pool was now "Iranian flag green." Sen. Blumenthal: "American taxpayers ought to feel absolutely cheated."
"Our Pool Is Bigger Than Skyscrapers": Trump Holds Up Chart Comparing a Flat Pool to Tall Buildings While Iran Ceasefire Collapses
In his first public appearance in a week — while ceasefire talks with Iran collapse and the House votes to end his war — Trump held up a chart in the Oval Office titled "Our Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers" comparing the 2,030-foot length of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to the heights of the Willis Tower, the Empire State Building, and One World Trade Center. He told reporters: "If you lay it on its side, it would take two or three of them to fill it in." The White House social media account captioned the post "mogged" — internet slang from looksmaxxing culture. He showed the same chart before. The pool renovation cost $6.9 million. The war costs billions.
Trump's "Pool Guy" Reflecting Pool Contract Hits $13.1M — 7x What He Promised — and Now Faces a Lawsuit
Trump promised the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would cost $1.8M to fix. The no-bid contract to his "pool guy" (a culvert waterproofer with no pool experience) started at $6.9M. The Interior Dept. then added $6.2M more — total now $13.1M, over seven times Trump's promise. A preservation nonprofit is suing to halt the blue paint job for violating historic landmark protections.