A jaw-dropping new video has laid bare the sorry state of President Donald Trump’s troubled Reflecting Pool after it was drained following weeks of embarrassing problems.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was drained again this week after an algae bloom turned the water a murky green.
Footage posted to X by longtime Trump foe George Conway, taken on the approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, showed a bird’s-eye view of the empty pool.
The video opens on the normally water-filled Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reduced to a vast, empty basin, its floor exposed from end to end after crews drained it for repairs.
“Fabulous view of the beautiful American-flag-blue R̷e̷f̷l̷e̷c̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷P̷o̷o̷l̷ Drag Strip on the approach to Runway 19 at DCA just now. Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump!!!!" Conway quipped in his post.
The Daily Beast visited the pool on Tuesday, which now sits fenced off to disappointed visitors hoping to take photos at the iconic site.
There appeared to be tire marks stretching along the base of the pool—although it’s not clear whether they were from the president’s motorcade, which drove through the empty pool in May so that Trump could inspect his latest project.
The surface itself looked drab and grey, with no indication of the “American Flag Blue” that the president so regularly boasted about.
And there was also no sign of the “350-foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors” that Trump claims led to the pool being damaged.
One visitor at the site, Kevin Davidson from Pennsylvania, questioned how much it would take to fix.
“I heard it was originally $15 million but surely it’s going to be a lot more now?” he asked.
“The president needs to worry less about this sort of thing. Just worry about governing.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on the post.
Conway, 62, split from top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway in 2023, after 22 years of marriage, in an “amicable” divorce. She remains a contributor to Fox News, and her ties to Trump reportedly became a source of tension during their relationship.
Conway is a founder of the anti-MAGA Lincoln Project, which aims to “Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box”.
In 2024, he donated the maximum $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund after describing the election as a fight for “democracy and the rule of law.” He also paid for a billboard along Trump’s route between Mar-a-Lago and his Doral golf club declaring: “Vote for Joe, not the psycho.”
His X post comes after weeks of trouble at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool since its traditional gray base was replaced with an “American Flag Blue” coating as part of preparations for the U.S. 250th anniversary, a project backed by Trump.
But scientists have warned the darker surface may be trapping heat and fuelling algae growth in the pool.
Officials attempted to address the issue by adding hydrogen peroxide, but the pool later became the site of another controversy when at least three dead ducklings were discovered in the water.
The coating itself has also begun to flake off and peel in some areas before floating to the surface, possibly due to the use of hydrogen peroxide, which can break down and strip paint.
But the president has claimed, without evidence, that vandals are to blame for ripping off parts of the coating.
Officials are now attempting to address the problem by draining the pool.
It is the second time in three months that the landmark has been emptied for maintenance.
