Trump’s Reflecting Pool Debacle Gets Halloween Treatment on ‘The View’
“The View’s” annual “Boo Are You Wearing?” segment featured the problem-plagued pool.
The View’s Halloween-themed episode poked fun at President Donald Trump’s bungled attempts to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
During the ABC show’s “Boo Are You Wearing?” segment, which has previously shown children in costumes inspired by newsworthy topics like Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, one participant was made up to resemble one of the president’s more embarrassing initiatives.
“This year, one of America’s most iconic landmarks had everyone doing a double-take,” Ashley Alderfer Kaufman, the show’s wardrobe producer, said, as a boy came out dressed as Abraham Lincoln while holding a reflective blue board with specs of green, representing algae.
On 'The View,' one participant in the "Boo Are You Wearing?" segment dressed up as Donald Trump’s algae-filled Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
ABC/The View
“After the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Lincoln Memorial, the new blue surface started peeling and algae quickly turned the water green,” Alderfer Kaufman continued. “Thankfully, restoration efforts are underway to return the memorial to its iconic reflecting pool state.”
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin exclaimed, “I love Abe Lincoln looking over it! These are so fantastic.”
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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an aerial view from the Washington Monument, crews remove algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after recent renovations following a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump to paint it blue ahead of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 19, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
Aaron Schwartz/REUTERS
Trump, 80, rushed to fix up the landmark for the country’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, only for the pool’s bottom lining to peel and algae to form. The initial price tag Trump provided—$1.5 million—has since ballooned to nearly $20 million.
Paint peeled from the bottom, and the water turned green in the Trump administration's Reflecting Pool fiasco.
Annabelle Gordon/REUTERS
The president tried to blame the pool’s failures on “vandals,” but cases against individuals fell apart due to lack of evidence. Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss the case against former Olympian David Hearn, saying prosecutors later learned the damage was caused by Trump’s own contractor, who was given the job without a competitive bidding process.
After a powerful storm further delayed repairs last month, a Daily Beast reporter observed signs from the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior continuing to blame “vandals.”
The Department of Interior and NPS have put signs up around the pool blaming vandals and past administrations -but people have placed stickers on the signs disagreeing.
Farrah Tomazin
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