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Trump fumbling the Reflecting Pool 'fix' sums up his presidency

30 0
28.06.2026

President Donald Trump made two claims about his plans to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, when he made the announcement back in April – that it would be cheap, and that it would be beautiful.

“A fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time, and you’ll get a better product,” Trump said on April 23.

Now, days before the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, it seems that the changes have been anything but. The paint job is botched – large strips of blue are peeling up and floating in the water. The pesky algae blooms have returned, even though Trump claimed he was remedying them. Multiple ducks have died. And to top it all off, the project has already cost nearly $16 million – way over the $1.5 million he initially said it would cost.

Democrats are pointing fingers and laughing at the objective failure of Trump’s little project. Republicans have been claiming that the rest of the country is overreacting. But what everyone seems to be missing is that the Reflecting Pool is probably the........

© USA TODAY