President Donald Trump’s botched Reflecting Pool makeover has been hit by a fresh disaster, with powerful storms leaving the landmark surrounded by toppled fencing, fallen trees, dirty rainwater, and debris.
Days after the president claimed the pool was “almost completely fixed,” Mother Nature delivered another setback to the increasingly expensive taxpayer-funded project.
The storm means that Trump’s renovation will be delayed even further as workers clean up the site before repairs can resume. The Daily Beast has asked the administration when the project is likely to be complete, but they have so far refused to answer.
Bewildered tourists and locals visiting the landmark on Saturday were greeted by scenes of destruction, from yellow “Do Not Cross” police tape to equipment submerged in stormwater.
“I’ve lived here since 1965 and this is the worst I’ve ever seen the pool,” a D.C. tour guide, who did not wish to be named, told the Daily Beast. “$16 million later, here we are.”
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was first drained in April after Trump announced plans to repair leaks and paint the pool “American Flag Blue”—insisting the renovation would cost about $1.5 million and take just a few weeks to complete.
But the contractor Trump hired to fix the pool was awarded the job without a competitive bidding process, and the cost has now ballooned to nearly $20 million.
The latest mess comes after Trump spent weeks trying to blame the pool’s failures on alleged vandalism.
The administration charged former Olympian David Hearn with damaging the pool after Trump repeatedly claimed vandals had sabotaged the renovation.
But his handpicked prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro, moved to dismiss the case, saying prosecutors had subsequently learned that the damage was caused by a botched job from Trump’s own contractor, who rushed to finish before the president’s America 250 celebrations.
Trump was furious; he accused Pirro of “folding like an umbrella” and summoned her to the Oval Office to explain herself.
He later acknowledged there had been “some contractor error,” but maintained that it accounted for only a small portion of the damage.
“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” he said in a Truth Social post on Monday.
“The grass is being replaced shortly, and the Reflecting Pool is almost completely fixed, including the various inflow and outflow pipes, which we were saving for the end of the year, but will do now.”
Hearn and his lawyers returned to court on Friday as prosecutors sought to dismiss the case.
“Davey Hearn is innocent. He’s got nothing to do with the toxic contamination of the Reflecting Pool and the algae farm that is growing in it,” said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin outside the court. “That is a problem with the Trump administration.”
The National Park Service has also appeared keen to spread the blame.
Signs posted around the pool insist the damage was caused by vandalism and “years of neglect by previous administrations.”
But some members of the public clearly disagree, and placed stickers on the signs last week featuring Trump’s face and messages such as, “Hands Off” or “Quiet Piggy”—a reference to the president’s vile attack on a female reporter last year.
But the Reflecting Pool is hardly the only Trump construction project encountering turbulence.
The president’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery is now racing toward construction, despite lacking final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and facing a lawsuit from veterans and an architectural historian.
Meanwhile, Trump’s massive White House ballroom has cleared a major legal hurdle after the conservative majority on the Supreme Court allowed construction to continue last week. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices on the court to issue a fiery dissent.
“Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year,” he wrote. “That construction is likely unlawful.”
Behind the Lincoln Memorial, a series of newly-gilded statues, known as the Arts of War and Peace statues, have also been unveiled.
Like the Reflecting Pool, they were awarded through a no-bid contract, which delayed them and cost millions more.
