{"id":2565,"date":"2026-06-22T20:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2565"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:40:28","slug":"trump-faces-pile-on-from-the-left-over-reflecting-pool-fiasco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2565","title":{"rendered":"Trump faces pile-on from the left over reflecting pool fiasco"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Trump is taking on algae \u2014 and his liberal critics \u2014 as he races to restore the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th celebration.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump insists on weapons inspections as Vance, Iran offer differing accounts of first round of talks<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Trump is the third consecutive president to run into problems restoring the 103-year-old, rectangular pool located in the heart of the National Mall.<\/p>\n

But unlike former President Obama, who was unable to successfully restore the pool after spending $35 million on renovations, or former President Biden, who rejected a plan to make needed repairs, Mr. Trump isn\u2019t getting a pass.<\/p>\n

Instead, the left, aided by dogged media coverage of the pool\u2019s problems and cost, gleefully framed the peeling paint and algae blooms as a symbol of the Trump administration\u2019s many alleged failures.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFound an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn\u2019t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell,\u201d Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said, commenting on a video showing blue paint peeling from the floor of the reflecting pool last week.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump announced contractors would drain and make repairs to the pool, just days after the project was completed at a cost of more than $14 million. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The left is blaming Mr. Trump for hiring contractors outside of the normal bidding process who they accuse of inadequately sealing the bottom of the pool before applying the \u201cAmerican Flag Blue\u201d paint.<\/p>\n

Contractors also failed to solve the algae problem that has plagued the pool for years, critics said. The reflecting pool renovations included $1.74 million for a nano-bubble algae filtration system installed by Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company owned by Trump donor John J. Cafaro.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump isn\u2019t blaming the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, or Green Water Solutions.<\/p>\n

The president accused vandals, who, he said, ripped a 300-foot gash in the bottom and dumped chemicals into the water.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nation\u2019s magnificent Reflecting Pool. Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair,\u201d \u00a0Mr. Trump posted on social media.<\/p>\n

Among those collared for vandalism was three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who told ABC News he \u201cwas able to reach out and touch,\u201d the \u201cloose end,\u201d of the pool\u2019s blue coating. \u00a0He was arrested by the Park Police on a misdemeanor vandalism charge and held for five hours.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia said it \u201chas received only a handful of citations, which we will review.\u201d<\/p>\n

They provided no further details.<\/p>\n

News outlets have descended on the reflecting pool to document the algae and peeling paint.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump accused ABC reporter Jonathan Karl of \u201csticking his hand in the Pool and trying to rip the rubber off the service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Workers began draining the pool on Monday in preparation for repairs while the president\u2019s most vocal critics compared the troubled project to Mr. Trump\u2019s other problems, from the Iran war they accuse him of unnecessarily starting to the detection of the once-eradicated screwworm that now threatens livestock in the Southwest after the Trump administration cut preventative funding.<\/p>\n

Read more Maryland buys Preakness Stakes to keep Triple Crown racing in the state<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Reich, who was former President Clinton\u2019s labor secretary, called the \u201cmess\u201d at the reflecting pool, \u201ca metaphor for Trump\u2019s many other messes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rep. Dave Min, California Democrat, said the reflecting pool problems are \u201canother example of the abuse of power that we\u2019ve seen time and again from Trump and his lackeys, with ZERO oversight from House GOP.\u201d<\/p>\n

The media\u2019s saturated coverage has stoked the outrage on the left.<\/p>\n

Rep. Debbie Dingell, Michigan Democrat, said her constituents are obsessed with the reflecting pool renovation problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlgae, that\u2019s all anybody talked at home this weekend. They were outraged,\u201d Ms. Dingell, who represents the liberal enclave of Ann Arbor, told CNN.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump took on the reflecting pool renovations as part of a D.C. beautification project ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th birthday.<\/p>\n

Statues and fountains around the federal city have been cleaned and restored and the president has ordered construction of a triumphal arch between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the MANY Statues and Fountains that we rebuilt, renovated, cleaned, and fixed, the only one that was Vandalized was the Reflecting Pool, which is being taken care of, ASAP!\u201d Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

The 2,028-foot reflecting pool has long been a renovation headache for the federal government and has suffered from leaking pipes and a sinking foundation, among other problems.<\/p>\n

In 2012, less than a month after the completion of a two-year, $35 million renovation during the Obama administration, algae returned with a vengeance.<\/p>\n

The National Park Service attempted to mitigate algae growth with increased ozone levels in the water, but it became impossible to eradicate due in part to a decision by the Obama administration to refill it from the Tidal Basin, rather than the city\u2019s drinking water supply, National Park Service officials told The Washington Post in 2012.<\/p>\n

Then-Park Service spokesperson Carol Johnson called the algae bloom, \u201ca direct consequence of the fact that this is a green project.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decade later, the Biden administration explored major renovations to address the pool\u2019s longstanding structural problems, but the president passed on the $100 million proposed price tag.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump decided to take on the project and signed on Atlantic Industrial Coatings in late March. The company was chosen in part because it could install the Rhino polyurea coating already selected by the Interior Department.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, company officials said they identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese areas are a very small part of the massive 7-acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,\u201d officials said. \u201cAs soon as it\u2019s feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more House committee leaders strike elusive bipartisan deal on kids\u2019 online safety legislation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump is taking on algae — and his liberal critics — as he races to restore the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th celebration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump faces pile-on from the left over reflecting pool fiasco - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2565\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump faces pile-on from the left over reflecting pool fiasco - 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