{"id":676,"date":"2026-06-21T18:40:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=676"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:40:27","slug":"the-reflecting-pool-mess-is-right-out-of-trumps-destructive-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=676","title":{"rendered":"The Reflecting Pool Mess Is Right Out of Trump\u2019s Destructive Playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump is<\/span> blaming \u201cVandalism\u201d by \u201cRadical Left Lunatics\u201d for some of the struggles of his beloved Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool remodeling project.<\/p>

Read more Our Hidden Fungal Networks Could Reach Beyond the Solar System<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJust like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they\u2019ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,\u201d Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday night. \u201cLaw Enforcement is actively investigating this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just six minutes later, he posted an image of what appears to be a green-haired protester wearing a shirt with the words \u201cTEAM ALGAE,\u201d presumably as evidence of said vandalism.<\/p>\n

Although Trump announced the renovation in April\u2014which he initially said would take one week and cost just $2 million\u2014the Reflecting Pool is still not \u201cAmerican flag blue,\u201d as fighting the algae has proved to be a larger task than the administration can handle.<\/p>\n

As the Washington Post <\/em>noted that month, major projects on the National Mall not only typically require congressional authorization, but are subjected to federal reviews. That doesn\u2019t appear to have happened with Trump\u2019s pool makeover. <\/p>\n

Indeed, the sequence of events here follows a pattern characteristic of many of the presidents\u2019 projects and policies. While the steps may occur in different orders, they end in the roughly the same place: failure, with regular people paying the price. Let\u2019s take a look at Trump\u2019s destruction playbook:<\/p>\n

1. Make the thing in my image and promise perfection<\/h3>\n

After vowing to clean \u201cBiden filth and incompetence\u201d from the Reflecting Pool last November, he posted on Truth Social in April that although he was warned it could take years to make it \u201cmuch more beautiful,\u201d it would in fact only \u201ctake a fraction of that time, at a fraction of the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Sprinkle some inside dealing<\/h3>\n

According to a Thursday report by the New York Times<\/i>, a company with connections to a longtime Trump supporter was handed a no-bid contract worth $1.7 million to install a new water purification system. A larger $14.7 million-contract to put blue waterproofing material on the Reflecting Pool\u2019s floor also had no other bidders.<\/p>

Read more Trump Takes Two Steps Back in Ending His Iran War<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Declare success, despite overspending<\/h3>\n

The Trump administration said it finished the renovation on June 4 and it would fill the pool with water within days. According to a summary of the Department of Interior\u2019s contract with Atlantic Industrial Coatings reviewed by CNN, the price ballooned up to $14.7 million, despite promises it would cost a seventh that figure.<\/p>\n

4. Trouble emerges<\/h3>\n

CNN reported on Thursday that blue material on the bottom is starting to peel off. Also, the algae is back.<\/p>\n

5. Blame the left<\/h3>\n

Ludicrous claims of sabotage? With Trump\u2019s Friday night post, it looks like we\u2019re at this step right now.<\/p>\n

6. Forget it<\/h3>\n

Trump has publicly downplayed previous failed projects, dating back to his US-Mexico border wall through, most recently, his Kennedy Center takeover.<\/p>\n

Last month, after a federal judge ruled his name be removed from the performing arts institution, Trump said he had \u201cno interest\u201d in continuing his remodeling project there. \u201cUnless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else,\u201d he posted, \u201cwe are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As nature clearly outpaces efforts to clean the pool, keep your eyes peeled for this one.<\/p>

Read more The Beautiful Game Is More Unaffordable Than Ever<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like other failed beautification projects, the president\u2019s ego trip will cost taxpayers millions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Reflecting Pool Mess Is Right Out of Trump\u2019s Destructive Playbook - Moving and Mortgage Hub<\/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:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=676\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Reflecting Pool Mess Is Right Out of Trump\u2019s Destructive Playbook - Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Like other failed beautification projects, the president\u2019s ego trip will cost taxpayers millions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=676\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-21T18:40:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5054f0d6390a533ee6dcb131545866cd.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1124\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"headline\":\"The Reflecting Pool Mess Is Right Out of Trump\u2019s Destructive Playbook\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-21T18:40:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676\"},\"wordCount\":593,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/73b89d27634e81b11a4146bdd5edaf3b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=676\",\"name\":\"The Reflecting Pool Mess Is Right Out of Trump\u2019s Destructive Playbook - 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