Why is Trump lying about how he ruined this historical American landmark?
Donald Trump spent an estimated $14 million to turn Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ‘American flag blue’, but has instead achieved a green algae bloom and a few dead ducks. Is this the perfect metaphor for his political career?
Listen to this article
What’s the story?
Donald Trump promised to 'drain the swamp' when he entered The White House for the second time. Instead, he swamped the drain.
That drain is in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and the swamp is the dull, green algae which now clogs its water in Washington DC.
Trump blames "sick, deranged" vandals for the murky pool and an alleged 350 foot crack, but there's a good chance it was caused by giving it an inadequate ‘American blue’ paint job (despite an estimated cost of $14 million), driving a fleet of cars over it before it had chance to settle and then pouring in hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to return it to the desired blue colour.
That didn't work, but it may have killed a few ducks, whose lifeless corpses were found bobbing in the (yep, still green) water. The paint is peeling from the pool, which has now been fenced off from the public after six arrests were made of visitors putting their hands in the water.
EMBED: https://x.com/EdKrassen/status/2069674158686933479?s=20
“Donald Trump decided he would rip it up, improve it, make it better, make it reflect even more brightly than ever before,” says Jon Sopel.
“And it's all turned out to be an absolute fucking fiasco.”
“No one has taken a knife to the reflecting pool.”
Read more:
The ‘pure misogynistic shite’ of a UFC fight on the White House lawn
Trump shows the world what a ‘stupid, bad-tempered and cornered’ man looks like
‘The most brazen act of presidential corruption this century?'
‘No one has taken a box cutter to the reflecting pool’
In May this year, Donald Trump was boasting how the new pool lining was a type of rubber “so strong, so powerful” it would last 50 years and could never be cut with a knife.
Now he’s accusing political rivals of jumping in the water and cutting a 350 foot crack into its base.
“We haven't seen any evidence that it was vandalism,” Jon says.
“This is also one of the most secure areas in Washington DC, with closed circuit TV absolutely bloody everywhere, surveillance cameras, and the US Parks police patrolling it.”
Trump has claimed to have evidence of vandalism, but has made none of it public.
“No one has taken a box cutter to the reflecting pool. This has not happened,” says Emily Maitlis.
“What has happened is that Trump's refurbishment – which was meant to make the pool look more magnificent – has gone badly wrong.
“The paint clearly wasn't the right kind of paint, the algae have come back, the whole thing is green, and the paint is now peeling off the bottom.”
Where the story of Trump ruining the Reflecting Pool gets darker…
But while there’s certainly a lot of humour to be found from Trump’s ineptitude at securing a legacy through America’s landmarks, or even just repairing a pond, The News Agents say there is a sinister side to this situation.
“Trump has been on social media saying that six people have been arrested, seven others have been cited for slashing the pool sealant,” says Maitlis.
“He is going after people in the same way that, just a few months ago, he went after James Comey for taking a picture of shells on the beach, it never stays as comedy for long with Trump.”
In April 2026, the former FBI director was accused of making a death threat against the president for posting the numbers ’86 47’, written in seashells, on social media.
Donald Trump is the 47th president, and 86 is used in the restaurant industry to mean ‘eject’ or ‘remove’.
“It gets pretty dark and pretty tragic quite quickly, and right now he is going after people that he thinks are his political enemies, and have somehow destroyed the bottom of the pool,” Maitlis adds.
Jon says for anyone peering into the Reflection Pool today will see just one thing in its green and toxic waters – Donald Trump.
“This is the perfect metaphor for the 'great builder,' the guy who was going to fix everything,” he says.
“He has spent $14m on doing this, and it's a total utter fiasco.”