President Donald Trump has taken on the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, ordering it coated in a swimming-pool surface tinted “American flag blue.” The move effectively covers the decades-old granite that he described as “leaking like a sieve” and too expensive to replace.
Announcing the project Thursday during an Oval Office event, Trump said work had already begun. The president said he was spurred to act after a visiting friend from Germany complained the water in the iconic pool was filthy and looked disgusting.
“And I went over there with Secret Service in tow, and I said, isn’t that a shame? That’s terrible,” Trump told reporters, showing a photo of the site under construction.
The reflecting pool, flanked by elm trees between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, is one of the capital’s most recognizable landmarks. It was the backdrop for Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. The project is the latest Trump-driven makeover of Washington, following decisions like demolishing the White House’s East Wing for a new ballroom.
Trump framed the pool renovation as a lesson in business efficiency. He said he scrapped a plan to replace the granite, which he claimed would have cost $301 million and taken at least three years. Instead, he called contractors he knew from past real estate deals.
“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools up the road,” Trump said.
The president opted to clean the existing granite and apply a new “industrial grade pool” coating for $1.5 million, with completion expected in a few weeks. He noted it would be ready before July 4, when the nation marks the 250th anniversary of its independence.
Trump brought up the project unprompted during a White House event on drug pricing, speaking about it for several minutes. He said he initially wanted a turquoise color “like in the Bahamas” but was persuaded by a contractor to choose “American flag blue.”
“You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool,” Trump said, “the way it’s supposed to be, much better than it ever was.”
The renovation comes amid other contentious policy moves, including a bailout plan for Spirit Airlines that has sparked backlash among conservatives and a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire after White House talks.
